SL’s exports to major foreign markets decline sans Italy, France and UAE
By: Staff Writer
January 01, Colombo (LNW): Among the top 10 export markets, Italy and France have shown a strong performance in both the month of November 2023 and the period January to November 2023 when compared to the corresponding periods in the previous year.
Furthermore, UAE has shown significant performance during the period January to November 2023 compared to the corresponding period in the previous year, Export Development Board (EDB) data shows.
Exports to the United States of America, Sri Lanka’s single largest export destination, decreased 7.27 % to $ 223.26 million in November 2023 compared to November 2022. Further, exports to the United States decreased by 18.24 % to US $ 2,504.82 million in the period January to November 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
In November 2023, exports to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners constituted 6.5% of the total merchandise exports, experiencing a notable 14.45 % decrease to reach $ 60.35 million compared to November 2022.
Specifically, both exports to India and Pakistan recorded decreases of 13.89 % and 19.78 %, respectively, during the month of November 2023 compared to November 2022.
The negative performance of India was driven by lower exports of animal feed (-38.62%) and petroleum oil (-42.15%), while Pakistan’s negative performance was led by decreased exports of betel leaves.
Exports to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners accounted for 7.2% of total merchandise exports decreased by 1.88 % to $ 846.45 million during the period January to November 2023 compared with the corresponding period the previous year.
Exports to India and Pakistan decreased by 1.76 % and 3.22 % respectively during the period January to November 2023 compared to the corresponding period in 2022.
The negative export performance of India was driven by lower export of animal feed (8.67 %), while Pakistan’s negative performance was led by decreased export of sheet rubber and other articles of stones.
Exports to the European Union (EU) that comprised 21% of Sri Lanka’s exports during the month of November 2023 decreased by 0.02 % y-o-y to $ 228.31 million.
Further, exports to the EU decreased by 11.2 % y-o-y to $ 2,485.88 million during the period January to November 2023 compared to the corresponding period the previous year.
During the period January to November 2023, the breakdown of exports to the top five EU markets that accounted for 78 % of Sri Lanka’s total exports to the EU were: Italy $ 632.04 million (increased by 7.16 %), Germany $ 529.8 million (decreased by 22.63 %), the Netherlands $ 306.46 million (decreased by 20.95 %), France $ 285.45 million (increased by 18.09 %) and Belgium $ 205.24 million (decreased by 213.42 %).
