Sri Lanka’s exports showing signs of a recovery

Sri Lanka’s exports, both merchandise and service, fell to US$9,693 million during January to September 2020, as against $11,784 million recorded for the same period last year, the Export Development Board (EDB) said in a statement on Thursday.

However, it said the figures – despite the drop - signaled that Sri Lanka is in for a stronger recovery amidst an unprecedented global economic downturn. 

Sri Lanka is not an exception in the decline in trade, reported globally due to factors such as weakened demand in the main major import markets, disrupted supply chains, capacity and logistical constraints, social distancing issues etc. On average the country’s monthly exports - both merchandise and services are in the range of $1,000-1,300 million.

Total services exports stood at $2,292 million during January to September 2020 as against $2,911 million recorded for a similar period in 2019. The service sector exports include both Sea and Air Transport, Construction, Financial Services and IT/BPM sector which covers the Telecommunication Services and the Computer Services. 

However, the major exports of the country reported drastic falls with apparel exports during the 9-month period falling to $3.3 billion against $4.2 billion last year while tea exports fell to $919 million from $1.0 billion last year.