Cargills Archives

June 10, 2022

SLT-MOBITEL, through its flagship Internet Protocol Television service, PEOTV and their Local variety channel Charana TV, recently signed an agreement with the Cargills Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the Cargills Group. This partnership will enable the launch of ‘BADANAMU,’ a kids edutainment TV programme produced by Cargills, as a pathway for the younger generation to learn ‘English as a Second Language’ (ESL).

Rohan Fernando, Chairman – SLT Group, Lalith Seneviratne, Group Chief Executive Officer – SLT Group, Ranjit Page, Deputy Chairman and CEO – Cargills (Ceylon) PLC, Ruchira Weerakoon, Chief Executive Officer – SLT VisionCom, Dilantha Jayawardena, Executive Director – Cargills, and members of the Cargills Foundation team participated in an event to announce the collaboration.

Rohan Fernando, Chairman – SLT Group said, “Enriching the English language and promoting STEAM education is vital to enhance the lives of thousands of children and help them in their future careers. Charana TV is pleased to sign this agreement with the Cargills Foundation, as a milestone enabling engaged activities and structured content for English language education in Sri Lanka. Charana TV’s wide reach will be extremely beneficial for all young learners.”

Ranjit Page, Deputy Chairman and CEO – Cargills (Ceylon) PLC said, “Cargills Foundation is delighted to partner with PEOTV to broadcast the Badanamu TV Series.

At Cargills we proudly believe that our business is corporate social responsibility. Cargills Foundation was initiated to further our efforts by going beyond business, to reach citizens who would not necessarily be impacted by our business operations.”

The ‘BADANAMU’ TV Series is designed to help children learn English in a fun and emotionally engaging manner, whilst being introduced to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) concepts. This series will further add value to the Cargills Foundation’s existing classroom-based Early Childhood Education programme, which is being implemented in many preschools across the country in addition to the Cargills ESL Home Learning solution, which is available at selected Cargills Food City outlets.

This is the first kids programme to be aired in English, and scheduled to be telecast on Charana TV weekly during weekends from 4-4.30 p.m. The programme content will also support the learning of STEAM subjects for the young learners especially as it is acknowledged that there is

a void in the country for such educational video content. Charana TV, with its high reach, will help the kids receive maximum use of this programme to learn English in an engaging way and eventually support to fill language gaps in society.

Charana TV, is a local broadcasting, television channel which endeavours to discover the roots of Sri Lanka’s multi-faceted rich culture. Its mission is to cater to the aesthetic needs of the public while respecting the diversity of the nation. Charana TV is currently available on SLTMOBITEL – PEOTV and PEOTVGO channel no. 05 and Ask Cable Vision on channel no. 15, and it reaches a large audience islandwide via TV, YouTube and other digital platforms.

October 6, 2021

Wednesday 6^th October 2021, Colombo: Cargills is humbled to have been selected as one of the Top 10 Most Admired Companies of Sri Lanka by CIMA, ICCSL and the Daily FT, for the second consecutive year. This recognition is a testament to the resilience of the Cargills business model in the face of the pandemic, as we continued to grow by placing the needs of the community first. Our philosophy has always been based on the belief that by focusing on community development, the balance sheet looks after itself.

Community first

As an essential service provider and a leading food company, we continued to meet the needs of the consumers during the pandemic. Our reach and impact went beyond serving our consumers. At a time when many farmers across the country were left without a marketplace, we provided a guaranteed market for thousands of farmers and supported their livelihoods. At the same time, we ensured that not a single ounce of milk went to waste as we increased our fresh milk collection rate to 180,000 liters per day. During the 2020/21 Financial Year alone, Cargills generated direct income over Rs. 9 Bn to the dairy and agriculture farming community in Sri Lanka.

Realizing the challenges faced by small entrepreneurs in the aftermath of the first lockdown last year, we launched an initiative called ‘Village to Home’ in September 2020, with a vision to provide local entrepreneurs a platform to engage with a larger market. In addition to supporting them with packaging, marketing, and quality assurance, the Cargills Bank provides low-cost financing to help increase their capacity.

Supporting the economy

By sourcing most of our raw materials locally and producing value-added consumer foods that compete with global brands, Cargills plays an important role in saving foreign exchange for the country. Our food brands have become leading national brands due to our focus on quality and innovation.

In spite of the challenging operating environment that prevailed during the last 18 months, Cargills continued to make investments across all business verticals and across the country. In total, the Cargills Group made Rs. 6.4 Bn in capital investments during the 2020/21 Financial Year. It reflects our belief in Sri Lanka and her ability to overcome the current challenges and rise again stronger as we have done before. As a leading Sri Lankan corporate, Cargills stands ready to continue our investments, impacting community development and driving value for all stakeholders.

Our team is our strength

This recognition was only possible due to the Cargills team, who continue to serve the needs of the community even during the most challenging of times. During the pandemic, our primary duty was to protect our team and ensure their emotional, physical, and financial well-being. In addition to providing the necessary support and building confidence of the team, we have also taken steps to ensure our team is vaccinated. Over 98% of the Cargills team which consists of over 12,000 members have been vaccinated to date.

Forward together

Our farmers and suppliers played a pivotal role in helping us meet the consumers’ needs. We would like to thank them and assure that Cargills will stand by our partners at all times. Our sincere appreciation to our consumers, who continue to support and believe in us. As one of the oldest and most trusted companies in the country with a heritage of 177 years, Cargills will continue to stay true to its core values of providing affordable nutrition and serving our communities across Sri Lanka.

May 3, 2021

Colombo, May 3 2021: Recognising the need for a holistic solution to tackle the growing concern on managing plastic waste in the country, leading corporates — Cargills and Unilever Sri Lanka — have joined hands to establish a sustainable plastic waste management system across nine Cargills Food City outlets in Colombo. Utilising the diverse network of resources and expertise of both companies, this holistic system will cover collection, distribution, segregation, and recycling of plastic waste. The companies hope to extend this initiative to other outlets across Sri Lanka. The initiative forms part of Unilever Sri Lanka’s purpose-led agenda to reduce its environmental impact by responsibly managing its plastic footprint, and further aligns with Cargills’ vision towards building a sustainable environment for Sri Lanka.

A demarcated plastic drop-off point will be installed at each location, with the option of disposing either hard plastics (bottles, tubs, cups) or flexible plastics (shopping bags, wrappers) at the customers’ convenience. The collected plastic waste will be picked up and transported to a collection hub for further segregation. Following this, all recyclable plastic waste will then be dispatched to recycling centres while the non-recyclable plastic waste will be sent to waste-to-energy recovery centres. This end-to-end process will be closely monitored to ensure that plastic waste is safely disposed in an environment-friendly manner.

Asoka Pieris, Managing Director – Cargills Food Company said, “Given the widespread visibility and presence of Cargills Food City outlets in the country, this project will significantly reduce the damaging effects of plastic waste. We further hope that this initiative will raise awareness and instill plastic recycling as a consumer habit, making progress towards a sustainable future.”

Said Aruna Mawilmada, Customer Development Director – Unilever Sri Lanka, “We are excited to partner with Cargills to make a positive impact on the environment. Reducing plastic waste is a global and national need and has always been a top priority for Unilever. While we believe that plastic must be used responsibly, as it is often the most safe and efficient way to get our products across to consumers, it should not happen at the expense of the environment. This is why we have come forward with Cargills to introduce our new waste management system which is one of many Unilever initiatives that are in place to protect and conserve our planet.”

Unilever has globally committed to make 100% of its plastic packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable; halve the amount of virgin plastic it uses in its packaging; and help collect and process more plastic packaging than it sells, by 2025.

The nine Cargills Food City outlets include the Pelawatta, Mount Lavinia (STC), Rajagiriya, Kandana, Wattala, Maharagama, Katubedda, Kollupitiya and Bloemendhal outlets, together with the KFC restaurant located in Marine Drive.

The official launch event took place on the 23^rd of April at the Cargills Food City Pelawatta outlet. To commemorate the initiative, coupons for a free eco-friendly bag will be handed out to customers at the collection bins for an entire week from the launch date.

April 8, 2021

Thursday 8^th April 2021, Colombo: As a socially responsible corporate citizen, Cargills holds a strong commitment to serving the nation and preserving the planet for future generations. By partnering with AGC Innovate Pvt Ltd – one of the country’s leading innovative solutions providers – Cargills initiated the launch of “Paving with Plastic” as a means to address Sri Lanka’s plastic waste menace in an ecofriendly and pragmatic approach.

The benefits of plastic are irrefutable – this versatile material is ubiquitous in our everyday lives, due to it being cheap and convenient to produce as well as being highly durable and user friendly. However, once used and disposed, plastic lingers in the environment for too long and does not decompose.

As a result, the inherent problem of plastic pollution is a global crisis, with Sri Lanka generating approximately 7000 metric tons of mismanaged solid waste daily, with 6% accounting for plastic and polythene waste. Therefore, in the absence of a proper waste management system, non-recyclable plastic is dumped in large landfill sites. These sites are now exceeding their maximum capacity, and has lead to pressing environmental and social concerns in the country.

As a first step to tackling this waste plastic problem, made a landmark decision to pave the Cargills Food City Carparks using Plastic Modified Asphalt Concrete, partnering with AGC Innovate. A sustainable solution, PMAC harnesses green technology by enhancing conventional asphalt on the polymer level with the use of waste plastic. Furthermore, extensive research has shown that PMAC also improves road strength parameters and durability, when compared against traditional blacktop asphalt concrete. Beginning from waste collection to the laying of the PMAC, this process is a technical achievement and a promising response to plastic pollution in Sri Lanka.

The carpark attached to the Walgama Food City outlet, will be the launchpad of the “Paving with Plastic” initiative, with the final PMAC laying process being undertaken on the 01^st of April with approximately 200,000 waste plastic bags being used. Subsequent to this would be the official opening of the Walgama Food City car park, which will take place in the near future.

December 11, 2020

Cargills (Ceylon) PLC, a leading Retail and FMCG company in the country, had the distinction of being listed in the Top 10 Most Admired Companies for the 2019/20 financial year. This recognition was awarded by the International Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (ICCSL), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Daily FT. This accolade is a testament to our long-standing commitment to creating sustainable value for all our stakeholders.

Backed by a 175-year legacy in Sri Lanka

From serving a few to serving many, Cargills has been through a journey from being a primarily wholesale and retail business to a diversified company with a presence across the country and is also a large contributor to the local food manufacturing sector.

A presence across the length and breadth of the country

Our retail arm, Cargills FoodCity is the most widespread retail chain with outlets in all 25 districts in the country. By expanding into new regions, we create new markets for our farmers and entrepreneurs and also provide employment opportunities to the youth.

Embracing innovation is at the core of our business model and this is evident in many new ventures such as Asia’s first mobile supermarket, Cargills 2 Home and Cargills Online, the country’s first end-to-end online grocer.

Venturing into new sectors

Over the last 20 years, we have ventured into the food manufacturing business and have built brands and elevated them to new heights. To strengthen the country’s food industry and provide our customers with nutritious food on a daily basis, many investments have been made towards building several state-of-the-art manufacturing and processing facilities.

We also look for ways to improve domestic production and are always engaging with more farmers since most of our raw materials are sourced locally. Furthermore, in our efforts in enhancing local markets, we also help ease the country’s foreign exchange pressures thereby complementing Sri Lanka’s endeavors to reduce import costs.

Our contribution towards the farming communities

Our work with our farmers is the heart of our socio-centric business model. We strive to empower the farming community in more ways than by sustaining their livelihoods. Through our Sarubima Fund, we give back to our farmers by offering their youth, educational scholarships and initiating many community development projects in the rural areas. Moreover, we bring in the youth and give them career opportunities through our independent educational institute, the Albert A. Page Institute (AAPI).

We actively engage with our farmers in order to improve their productivity and yields for them to be entrepreneurs in their own right, aka “gentleman farmers”. We provide them with extension services, technical input, guidance on best practices (such as Good Agricultural Practices/GAP) to improve their access to the market. Moreover, we have taken our farmers on overseas visits and introduced them to modern farming techniques which enabled them to build their own model farms.

Strengthening domestic dairy production

We have transitioned to be a major contributor to the Sri Lankan dairy industry and extend our fullest support towards improving domestic milk production. With our end-to-end dairy value chain proposition which includes Sri Lanka’s first fully integrated dairy processing plant, we have a strong commitment towards enhancing the productivity of our dairy farmers and actively encourage the consumption of fresh dairy as a life style.

Grateful for the support

We are humbled by this recognition, the credit of which goes to each and every team member of our Cargills family and we would like to thank the awarding bodies for this honour.

We have immense trust in our team who has rallied around the vision of Cargills, which is to serve the needs of the community at large. They are our heroes and we are grateful that they have placed their confidence in us as they understand that whatever their individual contribution is, it is for the betterment of the country.

SLT-MOBITEL PEOTV and Charana TV partner with Cargills Foundation to promote English language among young learners

Cargills among the Most Admired Companies of Sri Lanka for the 2nd consecutive year

Cargills and Unilever team up to help reduce plastic waste in Sri Lanka

Cargills initiates the first ever Plastic Modified Asphalt Concrete Car Park in Sri Lanka

Cargills recognised among the top 10 Most Admired Companies in Sri Lanka