Sri Lanka exports, imports declines; trade gap widens in December 2015

Mar 04, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports fell 18.7 percent to 817.5 million US dollars in December 2015 from a year earlier while imports fell at a slower 8.5 percent to 1,644.7 million US dollars, official data showed. The trade gap widens 4.4 percent to 827.3 million US dollars from a year earlier. On a cumulative basis, the trade deficit during 2015 expanded marginally by 1.7 percent to US dollars 8,430 million over 2014. Earnings from exports during 2015 decreased by 5.6 percent to 10,505 million US dollars while expenditure on imports declined by 2.5 percent to 18,935 million US dollars. The Central Bank said it reflected the subdued global demand and lower commodity prices. “Lower performance in tea, rubber products, textile and garments and seafood exports contributed mainly for the drop in exports,” the Bank said. “Significant decline recorded in fuel import bill due to lower oil prices and lower thermal power generation caused for the decline in import expenditure,” “The leading markets for merchandise exports of Sri Lanka during 2015 continued to be the USA, UK, India, Germany and Italy accounting for about 51 percent of total exports, while the main import origins continued to be India, China, Japan, UAE and Singapore accounting for about 60 percent of total imports.”