Sri Lanka, July 17 -- The Ceylon Chamber of Coconut Industry (CCCI) yesterday issued an urgent appeal to the government in response to the US' decision to impose a 30 percent import tariff on coconut-based products from Sri Lanka, effective August 1, 2025.

The move threatens to upend one of the country's most valuable export sectors, which currently generates over US $ 857 million in annual revenue and risks pushing thousands of rural livelihoods into uncertainty.

The US is Sri Lanka's single largest buyer of coconut-based products, accounting for more than 20 percent of the sector's exports, valued at roughly US $ 160 million each year. According to the CCCI, the new tariff all but destroys Sri Lanka's price competitiveness in the US ...