The Hindu Business Line : Kerala SSIs hope to cash in on ethical platform

KERALA had all along been harbouring a negative reputation for the high cost of its labour. Now the State has been able to cash in on what was earlier perceived as a liability in the high costs of its products into an asset.

The B2B meet organised at Kochi has driven home to the buyers, especially those from abroad, that Kerala's products are 100 per cent ethically manufactured, the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation said.

This, together with the good response from buyers, has injected a new sense of enthusiasm into the small and medium sector.

Summing up the response to the sector, Mr Xavier Thomas Kondodi, President of the Kerala Small-Scale Industries Association, said: "It triggered a new awakening among us. We return with better understanding of the world markets and will be back better prepared next year."

Despite its robust performance over the years, the small and medium sector never figured prominently in any of the discussions on industrialisation in the State. Now that is all set to change. The State Government has woken up to the strengths and potential of the sector.

In fact, the State Government has promised to set up an institutional mechanism on the lines of those for information technology, biotechnology and tourism, to take care of the problems faced by the small-scale sector.

This is to be achieved through better coordination among the various State Government departments, to address the problems of the small-scale sector.

The Government has also agreed in principle to set up a task force for the sector. This has been a long pending demand of the Kerala Small-Scale Industries Association, Mr Kondodi said.

The Government has also agreed on the need to attract fresh investments into the sector and also to make funds readily available to existing units. It has also stressed on the need for wider consensus to sustain the tempo of industrial investment in the State.

The need for a permanent venue for regular interaction between the industrialists of the State and those from outside has also been recognised by the State Government.

In turn, the need for new packaging to meet the international standards and requirements has been recognised by the small-scale industrialists.

This is not only expected to attract products from the shopkeepers' shelves, but also to ensure greater shelf life and longevity to the products. Better packaging is recognised as a primary tool to capture a greater global market by the small-scale sector world over.