Sri Lanka has been famous for her range of spices for centuries. Sri Lanka Produces range of Spices; the major ones being cinnamon, pepper, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg and mace. Over 90% of which is being exported. The end – users of these commodities are mainly in flavour, fragrance and pharmaceutical industries. Mexico. Other important buyers are form Latin America and the United States. It has been observed the cut cinnamon has been making an impact in the Europe and Japanese market in recent times.

Essential oils, another promising agro based produce also contribute the foreign exchange earnings of the country. Owing to the specific aromatic characteristics, Sri Lankan products have successfully established their own niche in the world market.

Sri Lanka exports a range of spice oils, of which the more important ones are cinnamon bark oil, cinnamon leaf oil and citronella oil, In addition, small quantities of pepper oil, ginger oil, clove bud & stem oil, cardamom oil, vativer oil, lemongrass oil are being exported. Total exports of essential oils are valued at US$ 4 – 5 Mn. Sri Lanka is the world’s larges producer of cinnamon leaf oil and bark oil which contributes to generating employment in the rural area.

Sri Lankan Natural Ingredients and Health Care Industry is also a traditional product area which manufactures a wide range of herbal preparations for the export market. This product sector comprises medicinal plants, single plants or mixture of plants in the form of dried, crushed or prepared medicament. Health awareness and diet consciousness are becoming more important among the consumers in the world. Accordingly, enterprises are diversifying their product range from medicinal plants to value added products such as extracts and finished products. At present, there is an interest in herbal health care products especially in the developed countries in the from of food supplements and nutraceuticals.