Abstract:
The world market for cinnamon comprises true cinnamon and cassia. Produce originating
from Cinnamomum verum / Cinnamomum zeylanicum is considered as true cinnamon
while cassia is a collective name for Cinnamomum cassia, Cinnamomum burmannii and
Cinnamomum loureirii, Cinnamon is the most important tree spice produce from Sri Lanka.
The cinnamon produced in Sri Lanka, has been in the market for centuries and is
considered as the world finest.
Sri Lanka is the largest producer and the exporter of true cinnamon while China, Indonesia
and Vietnam, are the major producers and exporters when considering the total cinnamon
market. Cassia is the closest substitute for true cinnamon, and therefore Southeast Asian
countries are competitors to Sri Lanka in the world market.
In this context this study aimed to identify and compare fluctuation of Sri Lanka’s share in
the world cinnamon market with the shares of other major exporters. The ITC (International
Trade Centre) Trade Map and the United Nations Comtrade Database were used as the
secondary data sources. Percentage shares of volumes and values for Sri Lanka, China,
Indonesia and Vietnam for the period 2000-2013 were calculated and trends were
compared. According to the results, Sri Lanka has lost about 10% of its share in the value
of the world cinnamon market and about 5% of its share in the trading volume during the
study period showing a declining trend, while the other three main competitors have shown
a rising trend.
