The photograph shows the newly elected Office Bearers and Executive Committee with the Guest of  Honour, Capt. Nihal Keppetipola.

The 29^th Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka Freight Forwarders’ Association was held on 28^th June 2010, at the ground floor auditorium of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Colombo. The Guest of Honour for the occasion was Capt. Nihal Keppetipola, Managing Director, Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

Mr. Tony De Livera of Wings Logistics (Pvt) Ltd, was re-elected as the Chairman for the year 2010/2011, while Mr. S. Mohanadas of Dart Global Logistics (Pvt) Ltd, and Mr. Dushmantha Karannagoda of Marine Transport Services (Pvt) Ltd, were re-elected as Vice Chairman and Treasurer, respectively.

The Executive Committee elected for the year 2010/2011 are C.L. Synergy (Pvt) Ltd, Expolanka Freight (Pvt) Ltd, Freight Systems Logistics Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, Hellman Worldwide Logisticst (Pvt) Ltd, John Keells Logistics Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, Phoenix International Logistics Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, Speedmark Transportation Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.

ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN-SLFFA, MR. TONY DE LIVERA

“Honoured Chief Guest Hon. Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Guest of Honour Capt. Nihal Keppitipola, members of the Advisory Council, fellow members, ladies & gentlemen,

First and foremost, I would like to thank you for re-electing me as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freight Forwarders’ Association for the ensuing year.

It’s now a year since we saw the end of the ethnic conflict which lasted 26 long years. So how far has Sri Lanka progressed towards development?

It is visible that economic activity in the north is picking up and its communities are beginning to see the first signs of monies donated by international communities for reconstruction. It is heartening to see the much valued tourism industry being revived, which is helping to bolster livelihoods and offering hope to many people in this country.

According to the Tourism Development Authority, tourist arrivals grew by more than 50% in the first quarter of this year, when compared to the same period last year.

It is evident that the increased number of arrivals was primarily due to the improved security situation in the country. So much so, that recently the UK & the US both relaxed travel advisories to Sri Lanka.

At the same time, over the past year, the govt of Sri Lanka have relaxed travel restrictions to the conflict-affected north, offering similar opportunities to areas of the island nation once largely off-limits to outsiders. A resulting influx of local visitors to Jaffna has caused trade to pick-up in the region. It is reported that thousands of local tourists make it to Jaffna every week.

The Central Bank Annual Report indicates that the economy of Sri Lanka demonstrated its resilience by growing at 3.5% in 2009 amidst most challenging domestic and external conditions and this remarkable performance is mostly due to the end of the ethnic conflict.

As for our industry, it can be perceived that the development of port infrastructure has been given high priority in the recent year as several port development projects were in progress in 2009. Namely, the Colombo South Harbour Project, the Hambantota Port, the Oluvil Port and the Galle Port Development Projects.

According to Central Bank statistics, the Colombo port handled 3.5 million (TEUs) and this was a contraction of 6%. Total cargo handled also decreased by 3.6%. However, with the expanded operations in the ports during the fourth quarter, the sub-sector indicated signs of recovery.

At the same time we would urge H.E The President as holding the important portfolios of Aviation/Ports & Shipping & our Hon Chief Guest, to recognize the necessity of simultaneously ensuring the development of Value added services related to these ports like Multi Country Consolidation/ Transhipment & Distribution Hub Centers that provide a host of services such as pick & pack, restoration, repacking, sorting….etc. This is the strategy that Singapore and Dubai have pursued with success. As the mere development of Airports/Ports alone, will take many years to yield positive results to the country. The SLFFA through its commercial arm has already taken one small step in this area in the Airport for the past 16 years and is very keen to work closely with government to help develop these value added areas.

Now that we are experiencing peace and stability, there is great opportunity and immense potential for growth in our country. Therefore, as individuals and as an association we need to capitalize on all the opportunities that have been made available to us. I am sure all you experienced colleagues present here today, are well aware of what needs be done.

As an Industry we note that the USA and Europe markets have still to recover in full extent. Consequently we are also concerned as to potential adverse impacts that the withdrawal of GSP + would have on our customers and ultimately on our industry. As an industry we would like to suggest that all stakeholders namely Ports / Airports/Airline/Shipping Lines/Local transport & Customs work together to ensure that costs are reduced which would help the garment industry to be able to still compete effectively even if GSP+ is withdrawn.

Having said that, I am sure you have received our Annual Report and gone through its contents. The report contains a detailed description of the activities of the Association for last year. Therefore I would like to touch upon some important areas the Executive Committee concentrated on during the previous year.

SLFFA New Secretariat
As you all are aware by now, SLFFA is now operating through its own Secretariat.
It was the vision of many SLFFA Past Chairmen, that one day SLFFA should operate its own Secretariat, and now this has become a reality. For the moment, the Secretariat is located at the SLFFA Cargo Services premises and we are indeed grateful to the Chairman, Mr. D. R. Hallock  and Executive Director AVM  Duncan Dissanayake of SLFFA Cargo Services for their kind generosity in permitting us to share their premises for the time being.
We are on the lookout for a suitable location where we can house the SLFFA Secretariat and the AITT, both under one roof.
On this score I am hopeful that the relevant authorities & our Hon Minister here with us today, would consider donating a suitable block of land within the city limits of Colombo, wherein SLFFA could proceed to build their own secretariat & house all our activities under one roof. Which no doubt will help our industry to grow stronger & more professional.

We are also indeed very thankful to the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce for providing us Secretarial Services for almost two decades. Although, we have moved out of these premises. SLFFA is still very much affiliated to the CCC & in close contact with everyone & all Associations relevant to our Industry.

SLFFA Air Cargo Village at Katunayake
Those of you handling airfreight are aware that cargo acceptance has now moved to the new UL terminal situated approximately 500 meters away from Terminal 1 of the ACV. As a result of this move, almost all our ACV occupants have been faced with a lot of operational issues and a marked increase in overhead costs.
When we learnt that the UL move to the new terminal was irreversible, we opted to request for reductions on rentals for the ACV warehouses of the occupants and also obtain office space for SLFFA members in the new terminal.
We have had a series of discussions with both AASL and UL-Cargo, as we are keen on obtaining some concession to mitigate the additional costs incurred by our fellow members. Progress has been slow, but we will certainly continue our dialogue with AASL & UL/Cargo to find a solution that will help the ACV users.

Standard Trading Conditions
The Executive Committee decided that the current SLFFA Standard Trading Conditions was outdated and needed to be modified to suit present industry standards. So in consultation with the advisory committee and legal assistance, a draft STC has been prepared, which we are hopeful will be finalized very shortly.

Freight Forwarders’ Licensing Regulations
Following several meetings with the Director General of Merchant Shipping, and as advised by him, we re-drafted submissions and forwarded them to the DMS. We are currently awaiting a final feedback from him.
Being a Young & vibrant industry that has grown based on self regulation and high professional standards for over 30 years, we firmly hold the view that any regulations must be with a purpose and not merely for the sake of regulating or catering to whims/fancies of other industry sectors.

E-Manifesting.
All XML formats imposed to transmit the proposed E Manifesting system under ASYCUDA World have been notified to the membership. The date of full implementation has not yet been finalized and the Secretariat will keep you duly informed of the relevant developments. It is important that all SLFFA members commence using this system for manifesting.

Re-launch of website / debtors database.
I am pleased to inform you that the Association re-launched its website (www.slffa.com) at the General Membership meeting held on 26th October 2009. I encourage members to make use of this site as it is user friendly and the ideal location to obtain information of the Association and its activities.

To coincide with the web launch, the Association also re-launched the newly designed and structured web-based system of the debtors’ database. Members now have the opportunity of uploading their monthly debtors’ information directly to the database by using an individual password allocated to each member. With this system, members can obtain relevant debtors information swiftly by using the allocated password, rather than having to coordinate with the Secretariat.
I am happy to inform you that over 50% of the membership is now uploading their debtors’ information through this web-based system which is a big increase in the number of members using this system when compared to the previous one.

SLFFA Cricket Carnival.
The Cricket Carnival was a huge success despite weather hindrances and the event having to be re-scheduled to a later date. This event which the Association revived after many years of absence was quite a hit among member companies, especially since it was an event that could be enjoyed by the whole family. We hope to organize a Cricket Carnival on a biennial basis. I must thank our vibrant Social/Publicity sub-committee for their untiring efforts in organizing these events.

On the subject of Social affairs. I am glad to announce that we will have the SLFFA Dance this year, which is scheduled for October. More information on the event will be notified in due course.

In conclusion, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every member of the Association for having given me and my Executive Committee all the support in all the activities that we had throughout the year. I hope I get the same support this year as well.

I am also extremely grateful for the work and support I received from my Executive Committee and the Advisory Council who supported me in all the initiatives and stood by me, right throughout all the decisions that we took in the interest of the Association.

I thank you all once again for appointing me as the Chairman for the second time and I shall do my very best this year too.

Subject USA Aircargo Screening update:

The following statement was released on Friday April 30th the USA TSA.

Effective May 1, TSA has increased the percentages of cargo that must be screened prior to being loaded onto a passenger aircraft inbound to for the U.S. These changes, while not yet requiring 100% levels,  are part of the Congressional mandates required under the 9/11 Act.  The screening percentages are Sensitive Security Information (SSI), however, the changes apply to all U.S. and foreign flag airlines operating into the U.S. 

The US Department of Homeland Security rolls back 100 percent scanning to 2014

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will push back by two years the deadline for scanning all U.S.-bound
ocean-shipping containers at foreign ports, as permitted under the 2007 law that included the requirement.

The DHS head cited lack of available technology and software that can automatically detect suspicious anomalies in containers,
logistical challenges and a shortage of DHS manpower to view images as key reasons for seeking the time extensions. In order
to implement the 100 percent scanning requirement by the 2012 deadline, DHS would need significant resources for greater
manpower and technology, technologies that do not currently exist, and the redesign of many ports.

FIATA will keep you informed on further developments on this item.

Import Cargo into Pakistan (Reminder)

The Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) in Pakistan published a decision, with the declaration provisions of the SRO.450 (I) 2001,
that all import cargo shall be accompanied with a copy of the packing list and commercial invoice(s). This is valid for all import
cargo entering the customs area for clearance, and shall be handled in the following manner:

- In case of containerized full container load (FCL) cargo, the documents shall be taped on the inner side of the door of the
container.

- In case of one consignment in multiple containers, each container shall have such documents pertaining to its goods inside
the container, taped on the inner side of the door.

Furthermore, for consolidated cargo and less than container load (LCL) cargo the documents shall be visibly attached to the
goods or package. Each such container shall also have a consolidated packing list.

IATA – Ending an Annus Horribilis US$5.6 Billion loss expected in 2010 -

IATA Cooperate Communication informed:  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) revised its financial outlook for
2010 to an expected US$5.6 billion global net loss, larger than the previously forecast loss of US$3.8 billion. For 2009, IATA
maintained its forecast of a US$11 billion net loss.

“The world’s airlines will lose US$11.0 billion in 2009. We are ending an Annus Horribilis that brings to a close the 10 challenging
years of an aviation Decennis Horribilis. Between 2000 and 2009, airlines lost US$49.1 billion, which is an average of
US$5.0 billion per year,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

“The worst is likely behind us. For 2010, some key statistics are moving in the right direction. Demand will likely continue to
improve and airlines are expected to drive down non-fuel unit costs by 1.3%. But fuel costs are rising and yields are a continuing
disaster. Airlines will remain firmly in the red in 2010 with US$5.6 billion in losses,” said Giovanni Bisignani.

FIATA World Congress 2010 in Bangkok

TIFFA (Thai International Freight Forwarders Association) will be the Co-host for the FIATA 2010 World Congress in Bangkok
between the dates of 4^th and 8^th October 2010.  The venues of the Congress are ideally located in the centre of the city and
easy to reach from the Congress Hotels.

“Thailand - Logistics Hub for the GMS (Greater Maekhong Sub Region)” is the title of the Main Forum which will be held at
the Queen Sirikit National Conventional Centre on October 5^th in the morning and will be attended by approximately 600-700
delegates from all over the world.

The Congress Brochure containing full details of this event will be on the way to you early next year.

FIATA Training initiative for the transport of Dangerous goods by sea

From January 1, 2010, Amendment 34-08 of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code requires that all
shore-side staff, encompassing  shipping line booking staff, container packers, shippers, forwarders and other port staff
involved in dangerous goods transportation undertake mandatory training.

End of October, FIATA Advisory Bodies Dangerous Goods (ABDG) and Vocational Training (ABVT) in a joint approach investigated
on the training requirements for seaborne shipments of dangerous goods with the Association Members of FIATA. The bodies are
currently analysing the feedback received so far and the results will be published in due course. The aim of this study is to gather
tangible information on the need of assistance from FIATA’s side to build up practical training according to the new IMDG Code
regulations. Some of the larger organisations have introduced training for dangerous goods transports by sea since quite some time
and IMDG Code e-learning is already in use by many shore staff employed by ocean carriers, ferry companies, freight forwarders
and shippers.

87th Session of the UNECE Working Party 15 (WP.15) on transports of Dangerous Goods

Mr Frank Huster, Chairman ABDG attended the 87^th Session of the Working Party 15 (WP.15)

at UNECE, Dangerous Goods Section, Geneva. The meeting dealt with items such as Carriage in limited quantities, Certificate of
driver’s training, Instructions in writing, Safety in road tunnels and others.

Agenda, working papers and reports of the WP.15 meetings can be found on the UNECE webpage (Dangerous Goods). 
http://www.unece.org/trans/danger/danger.htm

Mr. Tony de Livera – SLFFA Chairman says – “Knowledge & Skills Development is the need of the hour in our Industry”

Freight Forwarders Association (Founded 1981) was jointly establish with the support from UNESCAP and FIATA (Federation of International Freight Forwarders Association, Zurich, Estb.1929) to enhance the professional knowledge and career development of Sri-Lankans serving in the Freight and Logistics Industry.

Today, Globalization has been the most prominent factor driving the increase in the number of companies in the global market place. This necessitates a broader perspective than when operating as an international company, which may include, amongst others, attributes such as global branding, global sourcing, global production, centralization of inventories and centralization of information.

All of these aspects serve to emphasize the added difficulty of operating effectively in a global environment. Logistics and supply-chain networks have become far more complicated, and meeting the need to plan and manage logistics as a complete and integrated system has become far more difficult. Because of this, the best solution for a global company is very often to outsource its logistics operations.

Mr. Tony de Livera Chairman of SLFFA goes onto say, If Sri-Lanka is to take advantage, of its unique geographical slot in the Indian-sub-continent region as the gateway for transiting goods in the supply chain pipeline from the two cost effective production giants CHINA & INDIA in the coming century, it has to have the foresight in planning towards becoming a logistics services –HUB en-cashing into the growth of the Indian economy ,our closest economic power house, in the way of operating and developing most modern logistics infrastructure with state of the art warehousing facilities combined with integrated information and supply chain solutions, like in the manner which today Singapore is for the ASEAN region, a complete stock-house covering vast numbers of inventories, allowing buyers and sellers prompt sourcing and to have the shortest delivery circles for their goods and raw-materials within ASIA, where manufacturing can be done on a ‘Just-in-time’ (JIT) concept, cutting major lead-times for bringing their products to the global market.

Therefore, training and developing the knowledge and skills in our human resources, by adding another career opportunity to the job market in the supply Chain Management field is the need of the hour and should receive national level priority from Govt. and Merchant sectors of the economy.

The Sri-Lanka Freight forwarders Association, is the apex body representing the forwarding industry in Sri-Lanka affiliated to FIATA, has already embarked on the knowledge and skills training mission through AITT it’s professional training arm, which is ably run by its CEO Mr. Peter Barbut a veteran in the Industry.

AITT is a non-profit making academy as its main objective is to bring-in professional knowledge through its training courses which are based on international curriculum supported by FIATA and UNESCAP. Which will contribute to uplift the industry standards to international level in Sri-Lanka and giving more opportunity to young people for developing a Logistics/Supply Chain Management career, in one of the most rapidly developing global industries. Where supply chain solutions brings in a competitive edge in today’s global manufacturing and distribution sector.

The Sri Lanka Freight Forwarders’ Association, the apex body representing the freight forwarding industry in Sri Lanka, conducted a Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) course and a Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR) Refresher Course for the tenth consecutive year, from the 08^th to the 12^th of February 2010, at the Cinnamon Lakeside, Colombo.

The DGR (Full) course was held from the 08^th to 10^th of February 2010, while the DGR Refresher course was held on 11^th and 12^th February 2010. The DGR(Full) Course had 11 participants while the DGR Refresher Course had 32 participants from Member Companies.

 This international training program was once again organized in collaboration with the Australian Federation of International Forwarders (AFIF), an IATA approved training facility, which has a wealth of experience and expertise in conducting international training programs on freight forwarding in Australia as well as in countries in the Asia- Pacific region.

Both the DGR & DGR Refresher courses were conducted by Mr. Bob Rogers, who has more than 30 years experience with the AFIF as a Master Trainer in Freight Forwarding. Mr. Rogers has conducted several training programs for SLFFA members during the past several years. Some of the training programs conducted by Mr. Rogers include the Basic & Advanced Airfreight courses held in September 2003, and the DGR & DGR Refresher programs conducted annually for the last 9 years.

L-R

Mr. Bob Rogers (AFIF Trainer), Ms. Tania Polonnowita (Training Sub-committee Head), Mr. Tony de Livera (Chairman) along with the group of participants.

The inaugural SLFFA Six-A-Side Cricket Carnival was scheduled for 31^st October 2009 at the Bloomfield Grounds, but due to bad weather conditions during the second half of the tournament, the balance matches were rescheduled by popular requests made by the participating teams.

Hence, the continuation of the SLFFA Cricket Carnival was held on Saturday, 09^th January 2010 at the NCC Grounds, Colombo. SLFFA member organizations M/s. DHL Global Forwarding Lanka (Pvt) Ltd won the Championship Challenge Trophy (sponsored by Wings Logistics (Pvt) Ltd) with the runners-up being M/s. McCallum Cargo (Pvt) Ltd. Batting first, DHL Global Forwarding scored 84 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in the alotted 5 overs. In reply McCallum Cargo scored  83 runs for 1 wicket in 5 overs, therby losing the match by a mere 2 runs. This match was a fitting ‘finale’ to an excellent tournament  which produced a nail-biting finish keeping all who were present at the edge of their seats ! The losing semi-finalists were Toll Global Forwarding (Pvt) Ltd and Expolanka Freight (Pvt) Ltd.

A total of 49 teams from member companies participated at this event while invitation matches were played by teams from the Sri Lanka Customs, Ceylon Association of Ship’s Agents (CASA), Sri Lanka Air Cargo Association (SLACA) and the SLFFA Cargo Services (Pvt) Ltd. The team from CASA emerged winners in the invitation matches while the runners-up were team SLACA.

The Chief Guest at the event was no other than Sri Lanka’s spin wizard, Muttiah Muralitharan, who presented the Challenge Trophy to the winning team.

Despite bad weather conditions hampering the initial day scheduled for the tournament, the fun and entertainment continued for those who participated on the 09^th at the NCC. The carnival atmosphere at the grounds was indeed ideal for the whole family, as there was a kid’s corner to keep the young entertained while others enjoyed live Calypso music with and food stalls.

The main sponsor for the event was Janashakthi Insurance, while the media sponsor was Gold FM. Co-sponsors were CWT Globalink (Pvt) Ltd, SG Logistics (Pvt) Ltd – (Schenker), APL Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, Maersk Line (Pvt) Ltd, Browns Group of Companies, Expo Lanka Freight (Pvt) Ltd, Freight Links International (Pte) Ltd, John Keells Logistics Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, CL Synergy (Pvt) Ltd, NYK Lines (Pvt) Ltd and CMA & CGM (Pvt) Ltd.

The Sri Lanka Freight Forwarders’ Association (SLFFA), re-launched its website (www.slffa.com) at the General Membership meeting, held on 26th October 2009, at the NOC Auditorium, Colombo. The website was launched by the Chairman of SLFFA, Mr. Tony de Livera, together with the CEO of the software developer Mr. Ben Prashant of M/s. Ben Worldwide – Sri Lanka, Mr. S. Mohanadas, Vice Chairman of SLFFA and Mr. Dushmantha Karannagoda, SLFFA Treasurer.

SLFFA, which comprises of 90 leading freight forwarders in the country, was established in 1981 with the objective of bringing all freight forwarders under one umbrella, and with a view of institutionalizing and professionalizing the trade. Today the Sri Lanka Government, relevant Government agencies and the trade have recognized SLFFA as the Apex body representing the freight forwarders in Sri Lanka. SLFFA is also a member of the regional freight forwarding body The Federation of Asia Pacific Air cargo Associations (FAPAA) and the International Freight Forwarding body FIATA.

The re-launch of the website coincided with the revamping of the SLFFA debtors database system. The debtors’ database system is a comprehensive compilation of debtors and provides the cumulative debt outstanding to the industry with an age analysis on a monthly basis and details of outstanding debts on individual clients.

A major issue faced by many forwarders today is the increasing outstanding debt to the industry. Therefore, in this regard SLFFA established a database as an attempt to mitigate this common problem by sharing information on debtors among member companies.

The new database allows members to directly upload their debtors’ information as well as obtain details of outstanding debts of new individual clients.

The SLFFA website also provides other information such as member details, industry related issues, latest events and training programs organized by the Association and contact details of the SLFFA Secretariat.

Picture shows Mr. Tony de Livera (Chairman – SLFFA) launching the Web-site. Looking-on is Mr. S. Mohanadas (Vice Chairman – SLFFA) , Mr. D. Karannagoda (Treasurer – SLFFA) and Mr. B. Prashant (CEO – Ben World Wide).