By: Staff Writer

November 21, Colombo (LNW): In a strategic step towards enhancing the export environment of the country, Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board recently established a Trade Facilitation Task Force with the objective of overcoming the bottlenecks present in the export value chain.

The meeting for this task force was conducted recently at the EDB with representatives from 35 public sector entities involved in cross-border trade.

Simplifying the Process of Export

The operational inconveniences faced by exporters are identified and resolved by the task force, a mechanism that exists for finding quick solutions to the barriers that do exist.

The initiative’s rationale is to simplify trade procedures through better coordination between different institutions and to enhance the overall efficacy of Sri Lanka’s export mechanisms.

 In this way, the EDB aims to enhance the global competitiveness of Sri Lankan exporters by facilitating trade and improving inter-agency communication to promote economic development in the country.

Ambitious Export Targets

In keeping with the above aspirations, EDB Chairman Mangala Wijesinghe has envisaged an all-encompassing five-year export roadmap, striving to achieve US$45 billion in export earnings.

This ambitious target encompasses a broad spectrum of sectors including merchandise exports, services, and tourism, which are expected to grow annually at a rate of 15%, from the current growth rate of 4%.

The policy focuses on unlocking the potential of the country through selective reforms and initiatives.

At a recent media briefing, Wijesinghe presented a plan for increasing merchandise exports from $12 billion to $25 billion by 2030. The services sector, comprising IT/BPM, construction, financial services, and logistics, will also see a sharp increase in revenues from $3.1 billion to $11.5 billion. Tourism is also expected to explode, with revenues projected to rise as high as $8.5 billion from the current $2 billion.

Building Investor Confidence, Expanding Industries

He acknowledged that foreign investors and diplomats often question the nation for political stability and said the five-year export and investment roadmap of the current government was targeted at attracting stability and foreign direct investments.

One of the most important features of this roadmap is increasing per capita income in Sri Lanka from a current $680 to more than $1,000 within the next five years, with the lofty aim of strengthening the country’s position in global trade.

Wijesinghe also highlighted that only about 9-10% of the total exporters numbering 4,425 are current exporters of over $1 billion annually, while the rest are SMEs.

For the goal of $45 billion, scaling up by SMEs and diversification into value addition in more product categories will be required to give a harder push to become more competitive and thereby yield better export revenue.

Sectoral Focus and Future Growth

With the global maritime sector valued at US$1.5 trillion, marine industries have been earmarked as a thrust area by the EDB.

Today, Sri Lanka earns about US$ 200 million each year, but with Wijesinghe saying, “We will cross US$ one billion in a few years”. The ‘Voyage Sri Lanka’ conference on November 26 will be the vehicle to communicate the marine sector opportunities to a varied international audience.

Rubber and rubber-based products represent another high-potential sector for Sri Lanka that supplies over $800 million annually to the world rubber market, worth $500 billion.