Sri Lanka’s merchandise exports decreased by 11.88% to USD 951.5 million in September 2023 in comparison to the corresponding month last year, the Export Development Board (EDB) says.

This is a decrease of 14.94% when compared to the figure recorded in August 2023, the EDB said further, citing the provisional data released by Sri Lanka Customs.

In August 2023, Sri Lanka recorded over USD 1 billion in revenue from merchandise exports.

The decline in merchandise exports is attributed to the decreased demand for export products, particularly in sectors such as apparel and textiles; rubber and rubber-based products; and coconut and coconut-based products.

The cumulative merchandise exports during the first nine months of 2023 (from January to September) have meanwhile dropped by 10.31% to USD 8,961 million compared to the corresponding period of 2022.

Among the top 10 export markets, India has shown strong performance in both the month of September 2023 and the period of January - September 2023 when compared to the corresponding periods in 2022.

Additionally, Italy, the UAE, and France have shown significant performance between January and September 2023 compared to the corresponding period in 2022.

Exports to the USA – Sri Lanka’s single largest export destination – have decreased 26.28% to USD 202.1 million in September 2023 compared to September 2022.

Further, exports to the USA went down by 19.67% to USD 2,074.8 million between January and September 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.