January-April merchandise export earnings record new high in Sri Lanka
Daily FT: Sri Lanka’s merchandise export earnings have reached a record high of $ 3.98 billion in the first four months of the year, whilst reflecting a 3.55% year-on-year (YoY) increase, provisional data released yesterday by the Export Development Board (EDB) revealed.
This surpasses the previous record of $ 3.95 billion set in the same period in 2019. The all-time high $ 4.23 billion was recorded in 2022.
However, April merchandise export earnings declined by 4.10% YoY to $ 814 million, also showing a 29% drop compared to March 2024. Despite this, total exports for April saw a marginal YoY increase of 1.25% to $ 1.14 billion given the strong performance in services export earnings.
In April 2024, the estimated value of services exports was $ 300.41 million, showing a significant increase of 19.28% compared to the same month in 2023.
The strong performance in services export earnings, during the first four months which rose by 6.47% YoY to $ 1.04 billion, contributed significantly to the total export value.
As a result, total export earnings from January to April hit a high of $ 5.03 billion, marking a 4.14% YoY growth.
The EDB’s estimate of services exports includes sectors such as ICT/BPM, construction, financial services, transport and logistics.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s manufacturing and export sectors have shown resilience and growth with positive movements being recorded even amidst the challenging economic conditions faced by the country during the past few years. The many trade agreements and trade concessions enjoyed with many countries have helped boost Sri Lanka’s manufacturing and export sectors. The Sri Lankan government and authorities have also formulated incentive schemes to attract foreign businesses/investors to the manufacturing and export sectors. The expanding economic activities in the country and the target of becoming a regional hub have added to the growth in business/investment opportunities in key economic sectors including the manufacturing and export sectors. Realizing the growth potential in these two sectors, local authorities are engaged in programmes to develop and expand the manufacturing and export processes by promoting the expansion of the existing product portfolios while looking for new foreign markets for locally manufactured products. Given the growing business/investment opportunities in the manufacturing and export sectors and its business potential, foreign businesses/investors could explore the growing opportunities in these sectors.