Baling cinnamon in Sri Lanka Late 1800s Showing five workers tying cinnamon cane into cylindrical bundles was destined for export. Photograph by W L H Skeen and Co Sri Lanka is the world’s largest producer of cinnamon, accounting for about 65% to 70% of global production. The remaining supply comes from countries like Seychelles, Madagascar, […]
Turner. Director of Statistics and Superintendent of Census, in 1922, states that the Ceylon pearl fisheries are very ancient, and appear to be carried on under much the same conditions for 2,000 to 3,000 years. Pliny refers to Taprobane (Ceylon) as the “the most productive of pearls of all parts of the world”. The most profitable on record was during the 1903 to 1907, the value of the 1905 fishery alone was Rs. 3.5 Million and predicts that there is an excellent prospect of a new series of fisheries in the immediate future, as large numbers of oysters have been found on the banks within the last year. This around the time the photograph was taken.