Jan 28, Colombo: Trade Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena said Sri Lanka increased exports by 23% amidst challenging environment faced both locally and globally.

Speaking at a media briefing held in Colombo on "Sri Lanka’s export growth in the year 2021" the Minister said that despite the global economic downturn since 1930, achieving such a growth rate in the country’s export sector will strengthen the country’s economy.

He said for the first time in the history of Sri Lanka’s exports, the total exports of goods in 2021 exceeded US $ 15 billion mark and the monthly export earnings exceeded the billion dollar mark in eight months of the year.

“The government, led by the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has taken steps to expedite the vaccination of all parties in the export sector, even during the closure of the country, and has made it possible for all companies to carry out their manufacturing activities using proper hygiene practices within their institutions, and these export earnings were earned through an excellent methodology compared to other countries,” Minister Gunawardena noted.

Accordingly, the Minister expressed his gratitude and appreciation to all the exporters who have gone on to earn such an income while safeguarding all those working in their factories.

Sri Lanka’s export sector was able to increase its total commodity exports by 24.17% in 2021, with an increase of US $ 2.78 billion compared to 2020, the Minister said.

Suresh D. Mel, Chairman, Export Development Board, making a detailed presentation on the revenues for the years 2020 and 2021 said Sri Lanka’s exports of goods and services earned US $ 15.1 billion in 2021, a growth of 23% over US $ 12.34 billion in 2020.

Accordingly, the Export Development Board’s revised export forecast for 2021 is US $ 15.12 billion. He further stated that the country’s export sector has achieved 96.2% of the export target in 2021.