Negative export growth in October 2020 

Negative growth of 14.9 per cent to US$ 831.72 million was recorded in October 2020 in Sri Lanka’s exports compared to the value of $977.3 million recorded in October 2019, the Export Development Board (EDB) said on Friday quoting Customs data

This poor performance is due to the adverse impact of the second wave of COVID-19 within the country and globally. 

Export Development Board (EDB) Chairman Prabhash Subasinghe said, “It is concerning to see a sharp reduction in exports in October due to the C-19 eruption in Sri Lanka which has had a direct impact on our manufacturing and export facilities. The exporters’ order book is full for the rest of the year and the businesses need to be agile to manage through the C-19 disruption. European markets have moved into a lockdown phase and the US has also reported very high C-19 numbers, this will have a significant impact on our market access. Our exporters will need to navigate this uncharted territory in order to maintain business continuity.”

Increases in exports were recorded only in the Europe (6.45 %) in October 2020 compared to October 2019. Moreover, earnings from merchandise exports absorbed by the UK in October 2020 increased by 38.93 % compared with the value recorded in October 2019.

The EDB said total merchandize export earnings for January to October 2020 was $8,233.21 million compared to $9,849.17 million recorded in the similar 2019 period, a decline of 16.41 %. 

Major exports such as Apparel & Textiles ($3,630.41 million), Tea ($1,031.78 million), Rubber & Rubber based products ($ 667.14 million) and Electrical & Electronic Components ($ 266.71 million) recorded decrease of 21.29%, 9.42%, 11.49% and 17.64% respectively during January - October 2020 compared to the similar period of previous year.