Sri Lanka's main industry during the precolonial period, spanning from the 6th century BC to 1505 AD, was agriculture or wet paddy farming; However, a great change in Sri Lanka's industries can be seen during the colonial period, which spanned from 1505 to 1948 AD. The colonialists who occupied the country before the British, namely the Portuguese and the Dutch, began trading Sri Lanka making profits from cinnamon and other locally available spices with low overheads, but nonetheless generated profits in Europe due to scarcity as well as market demand. raw materials (Publications, 2008, p. 129). According to JW Bennett (1843): Local revenues come from duties on cinnamon, salt, tobacco, fish farms, pearl and chank (Valuta gravis) fishing, marriage licenses and spirits. , court and commercial stamps, fines, land switching tax, auction fees, postal receipts, boat rental and pilotage fees, mooring fees, gunpowder sales, horses from the Delft Island government stud , Ceylon Gazette and Calendar, house and land rents, premiums on sales of treasury bonds, timber, Veddah tribute and customs duties on exports and imports. (p. 45) Additionally, with the East Indies Trading Company, located in India, other industries, which were transported locally for individual needs or for trade with each other, such as spices, pearl fishing, nuts Areca, precious stones, elephants and coconuts, were also traded. (Nubin, 2002, p. 176). Nevertheless, the great boom in commercialized productions, mainly commercial agriculture, was first introduced to Sri Lanka during the period of British occupation between the years 1796 and 1948 AD. Horatio Suckling (1876): With a few exceptions, such as plumbago, the same type of pr. ..... middle of paper ......were the main commercial agricultural products until the end of the British era, which came with the independence of Sri Lanka in 1948. The British colonists, during their colonial rule, introduced their major cash crops to their colonies like India and Kenya, and who shared many trade products similar to tea under the British. Therefore, while many British colonies like Sri Lanka gained independence in the mid-1900s, nations producing the same commercial goods were abundant. Therefore, Sri Lanka's post-independence rulers were faced with the search for new commercial products, which tapped the international market to subsidize the economy. impact of low demand for Ceylon tea, natural rubber and coconut. Sri Lanka therefore began to seek and experiment with opportunities in the area of ​​commodities and services, which were increasingly in demand internationally..