Merchandise Export Earnings Resilient In May

Despite the pandemic-related travel restrictions, Sri Lanka’s merchandise exports remained resilient in May, as exports recovered by 10.7 percent month-on-month (MoM) to US $ 884.2 million in the month from a five-month low in April, due to the initial shocks from the third COVID-19 wave, according to the Export Development Board (EDB).

• Exports recovered by 10.7% MoM to US $ 884.2mn and by 50.71% YoY, compared to US $ 586.7mn in May 2020

• May export figure slightly below pre-pandemic export earnings of US $ 961mn

• Apparel exports grew by 69.48% YoY to US $ 370.87mn; tea by 0.88% YoY and 37.8% MoM to US $ 109.23mn

• USA retained top spot as single largest market for SL’s exports, recovering by 46.46% YoY to US $ 213.11mn

On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, exports recovered by 50.71 percent in the month, compared to the US $ 586.7 million export figure recorded in May last year, due to the impacts of the first COVID-19 wave when the country was in a lockdown and key export markets were also under similar mobility restrictions. However, the May export figure was still slightly below the pre-pandemic export earnings of US $ 961 million.

“We are happy to see that the export levels are reaching fast to the pre-COVID-19 levels, despite the continuous multiple challenges faced by our exporters with intermittent travel restrictions and local area isolations,” EDB Chairman Suresh de Mel said.