The consignment had been sent back to the island as soon as it had reached the Greek Port. It had been found that the consignment had been shipped abroad by two coconut mills in Wennapuwa. The mill owners had been requested to be more vigilant in future.

Coconut Development Board Chairman Sugath Handunge, commenting on the matter, said that it this incident was part of a plot by an organized group to cripple the local desiccated coconut industry. “This had been done to tarnish Sri Lanka’s image,” he said, highlighting the fact that the local desiccated coconuts were of good quality. He said that local desiccated coconuts cannot be contaminated as frequent quality tests are carried by the officers attached to the Coconut Development Board.

It had been decided to carry out further tests on the consignment of coconuts that were brought back from Greece.

Source: Daily Mirror - Sri Lanka