Sri Lanka’s increased apparel earnings take July exports to $ 1.1 billion.
The Morning: Earnings from merchandise exports increased by 2.25% year-on-year (YoY) to $ 1,128.7 million in July 2022, as per the data released by Sri Lanka Customs. This was mainly due to the increase in earnings from export of apparel and textiles.
Accordingly, exports of apparel and textiles increased by 21.55% YoY to $ 550.05 million in July 2022, driven by both apparel and textiles. Export earnings from tea in July 2022, which made up 11% of merchandise exports, increased by 2.08% YoY to $117.52 million, mainly due to the higher export of tea packets (13.57%). Export earnings from electrical and electronics components increased by 4.36% YoY to $ 41.18 million in July 2022, with strong performance in exports of insulated wires and cables (8.26%) and other electrical and electronic products (15.5%).
However, export earnings from rubber and finished rubber products decreased by 7.67% YoY to $ 89.24 million in July 2022, with poor performance in exports of industrial and surgical rubber gloves (-20.96%). On a monthly analysis, except shell products, the export earnings of kernel products and fibre products categorised under the coconut-based products segment decreased by 25.62% and 15.45%, respectively, in July 2022 compared to July 2021.
Export earnings from seafood decreased by 48.99% to $ 20.65 million in July 2022 compared to July 2021. Except for shrimps, export earnings from frozen fish and fresh fish decreased by 59.5% and 61.36%, respectively, in July 2022. Further, export earnings from ornamental fish decreased by 72.47% to $ 1.36 million in July 2022, compared to July 2021.
In addition, export earnings from spices and essential oils decreased by 26.2% YoY to $ 33.91 million in the month of July 2022 due to the poor performance in the export of cinnamon (-17.45%), pepper (-38.36%), oleoresins (-4.78%), and cloves (-51.87%). Export growth was recorded for the top 10 export markets in the January-July 2022 period. The single largest export destination, the US, recorded $ 1,988.43 million worth of exports in the January-July 2022 period – a significant YoY increase of 21.89% in comparison to $ 1,631.36 million recorded in 2021.
Exports to the UK, the second largest trading partner, recorded an increase of 14.59% to $ 602.01 million during the January-July 2022 period, compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. During the January-July 2022 period, exports to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners accounted for 7.2% of total merchandise exports, increasing by 13.73% to $ 547.4 million. Although exports to India increased by 16.6% YoY to $ 500.75 million, exports to Pakistan decreased by 10.02% to $ 46.65 million during the January-July 2022 period compared with the corresponding period of 2021.
Increased exports to India were mainly supported by increased exports of animal feed (15.8%), arecanut (86.64%), and textiles (35.65%) in the January-July 2022 period.
On a region-wise comparison, exports to all regions except CIS countries increased during the January-July 2022 period compared with the corresponding period of 2021.
During the January-July 2022 period, the breakdown of exports to the top five EU markets, which accounted for 80% of Sri Lanka’s total exports to the EU, were as follows: Germany – $ 450.51 million (an increase of 7.83%), Italy – $ 359.21 million (an increase of 10.5%), Netherlands – $ 233.88 million (an increase of 0.77%), Belgium – $ 186.35 million (a decrease of 0.1 %), and France – $ 153.79 million (an increase of 14.91%).
The estimated value of services exports for the period of January-July 2022 was $ 1,146 million, increasing 5.39% over the corresponding period of 2021. The services exports estimated by the Export Development Board (EDB) consist of ICT/BPM, construction, financial services, and transport and logistics.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s manufacturing and exports sectors have shown a steady growth despite facing an economic crisis. The local apparel industry is one of the main exports to bring in the much needed foreign exchange to the country. The steady growth in Sri Lanka’s apparel industry has expanded the business/investment opportunities in the industry. The many trade agreements and trade concessions especially the concessions from the EU and US enjoyed by the country have helped boost Sri Lanka’s apparel industry. The government of Sri Lanka has also introduced many incentives to the industry in order to further uplift and strengthen the country’s apparel industry. Given the growing business potential in the apparel industry, foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore opportunities in the industry. They could also look at forming partnerships or joint ventures with local businesses engaged in the apparel industry for further expansion.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/21092022/X_5 |