Earnings from the merchandise exports increased by 9.9 % y-o-y to US$ 980.2 Mn in May 2022 as per the data released by the Sri Lanka Customs. This was mainly due to the increase in earnings from export of Apparel & Textiles, Coconut based products and Electrical & Electronic Components.
Table 1: Merchandise Export Performance
Values in US$ Mns
| Exports of Goods | Jan-May 2020 | Jan-May 2021 | Jan-May 2022 | % Growth | May 2021 | May 2022 | % Growth |
| Apparel & Textiles | 1,534.6 | 2,064.2 | 2,400.6 | 16.3 | 370.9 | 482.7 | 30.1 |
| Tea | 456.7 | 526.6 | 460.9 | -12.5 | 109.2 | 93.7 | -14.2 |
| Rubber-based | 280.3 | 424.5 | 414.3 | -2.4 | 91.2 | 76.7 | -15.9 |
| Coconut-based | 216.6 | 317.2 | 350.0 | 10.4 | 66.7 | 70.6 | 5.8 |
| Diamond, Gems & Jewelry | 61.0 | 107.0 | 115.0 | 7.5 | 14.2 | 16.9 | 18.8 |
| Electronics & Electronic Components | 113.1 | 164.3 | 188.3 | 14.6 | 35.2 | 41.8 | 18.8 |
| Spices and Essential Oils | 82.8 | 162.0 | 128.6 | -20.6 | 25.3 | 21.5 | -14.9 |
| Food & Beverages | 124.7 | 147.7 | 164.6 | 11.5 | 30.2 | 32.2 | 6.4 |
| Seafood | 74.8 | 90.6 | 105.8 | 16.7 | 15.1 | 16.8 | 11.8 |
| Ornamental Fish | 4.4 | 5.9 | 7.1 | 19.7 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 41.1 |
| Vegetables | 9.7 | 9.6 | 9.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.1 |
| Fruits & Nuts | 14.2 | 14.8 | 12.8 | -13.4 | 2.8 | 2.3 | -18.3 |
| Other Export Crops | 29.9 | 23.5 | 34.1 | 45.0 | 4.5 | 10.8 | 139.1 |
| Flowers & Foliage | 5.2 | 5.7 | 6.0 | 6.3 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 18.1 |
| Boat Building | 1.3 | 1.5 | 5.3 | 254.7 | 0.5 | 0.1 | -73.6 |
| Petroleum Products | 141.0 | 51.1 | 72.2 | 41.1 | 27.7 | 7.1 | -74.4 |
| Others | 368.3 | 575.8 | 670.0 | 16.4 | 94.6 | 102.9 | 8.7 |
| Total Merchandize Exports | 3,518.6 | 4,692.0 | 5,145.4 | 9.7 | 891.7 | 980.2 | 9.9 |
Table 2: Top 10 Export Destinations
Values in US$ Mns
| Country | Jan-May 2020 | Jan-May 2021 | Jan-May 2022 | % Growth | May 2021 | May 2022 | % Growth | |
| 1 | United States | 905.10 | 1,133.71 | 1,364.08 | 20.32 | 213.11 | 266.42 | 25.02 |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 296.21 | 366.53 | 411.62 | 12.30 | 72.29 | 78.22 | 8.20 |
| 3 | India | 220.53 | 302.63 | 364.99 | 20.61 | 55.28 | 82.51 | 49.26 |
| 4 | Germany | 195.85 | 286.00 | 303.55 | 6.14 | 53.80 | 56.20 | 4.46 |
| 5 | Italy | 135.66 | 226.02 | 243.86 | 7.89 | 40.45 | 51.45 | 27.19 |
| 6 | Belgium | 94.35 | 132.18 | 122.07 | -7.65 | 26.71 | 27.04 | 1.24 |
| 7 | Netherlands | 88.16 | 162.21 | 161.58 | -0.39 | 27.11 | 31.18 | 15.01 |
| 8 | Canada | 71.92 | 114.98 | 144.76 | 25.90 | 20.47 | 28.70 | 40.21 |
| 9 | China | 71.21 | 116.96 | 98.29 | -15.96 | 20.91 | 18.96 | -9.33 |
| 10 | UAE | 77.09 | 93.20 | 109.52 | 17.51 | 23.03 | 20.34 | -11.68 |
| Other Markets | 1,362.52 | 1,757.58 | 1,821.08 | 3.61 | 338.54 | 319.18 | -5.72 | |
| Total | 3,518.6 | 4,692.0 | 5,145.4 | 9.7 | 891.7 | 980.2 | 9.9 |
Table 3: Export Regions
Values in US$ Mns
| Region | Jan-May 2020 | Jan-May 2021 | Jan-May 2022 | % Growth | May 2021 | May 2022 | % Growth |
| United States | 905.1 | 1,133.7 | 1,364.1 | 20.32 | 213.1 | 266.4 | 25.02 |
| European Union (EU) excluding UK | 742.0 | 1,136.0 | 1,190.9 | 4.84 | 210.1 | 234.0 | 11.39 |
| South Asia | 333.1 | 455.9 | 540.0 | 18.46 | 94.9 | 114.8 | 20.95 |
| Middle East Countries (Excl. Cyprus & Egypt) | 278.9 | 310.3 | 351.2 | 13.18 | 66.4 | 68.8 | 3.60 |
| African Countries | 80.8 | 123.6 | 130.4 | 5.45 | 23.6 | 26.3 | 11.37 |
| Asean Countries | 118.3 | 112.5 | 113.6 | 0.92 | 22.9 | 19.1 | -16.87 |
| CIS Countries | 103.0 | 102.6 | 79.4 | -22.64 | 20.0 | 12.2 | -38.83 |
| Others | 957.5 | 1,317.4 | 1,375.8 | 4.44 | 240.8 | 238.7 | -0.85 |
| Total Merchandise Exports | 3,518.6 | 4,692.0 | 5,145.4 | 9.7 | 891.7 | 980.2 | 9.9 |
Export of Services
The estimated value of services exports for the period of January to May 2022 was 1,472.7 Million dollars, increasing 93.3 % over the corresponding period of 2021. The services exports estimated by EDB consists of ICT/BPM, Construction, Financial services and Transport & Logistics.