Sri Lankan exporters positive in outlook with expectations of moderate growth
Sri Lanka’s exporters are reportedly looking more positive in their outlook with expectatiosn for a moderate growth for the export business and the overall economy during the next 12 months as the country rebounds from the impact of the global Covid 19 pandemic.
The state owned newspaper, Daily News has reported that this fact was revealed in the latest Business Survey on Trade and Labour Market Impacts of COVID – 19 on Sri Lankan Exporters designed and conducted by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supported Partnership for Accelerating Results in Trade, National Expenditure and Revenue (PARTNER) project.
According to reports, this is the second assessment of the impact of Covid-19 on Sri Lankan exporters. The first business survey was conducted in May 2020 and had captured insights from the lockdown period.
The survey was conducted over three weeks, starting from August 13, 2020, and had covered 39 export segments, media reports stated.
It has also been noted that business operations are heading back to pre-Covid-19 levels – 53% of the firms have gone back to normal working operations while 64% of the firms have reported that they are at over 60% of their operational capacity while about 38% of firms reported that they are in partial operation.
Over 70% of the survey respondents are now able to pay basic salary with standard allowances for all executive and non-executive grade employees, which is a substantial improvement from the 40% response recorded in May.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s exports sector is on a path to revival following the global Covid 19 pandemic. Sri Lankan authorities are confident that the country’s exports sector would meet the revised targets this year. Sri Lanka’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean, ease of doing business environment and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have made it a business hub in the South Asian region. Therefore, foreign businesses/investors could explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s exports sector.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/21102020/Z_1 |