Sri Lanka’s merchandise exports fell by 8 percent with a drop in earnings in apparel and textile

The Sri Lankan rupee which suffered badly after political turmoil has finally started recovering. Its downside was the decline in its exports led by a fall in apparel and textile exports.

The Sri Lankan rupee appreciated by 12-14 percent last month.



Merchandise exports of Sri Lanka dropped in February by eight percent according to a statement from its export promotion office. It attributed the decline to the steep strengthening of the rupee strengthened amid weak domestic credit and voluntary Rupee deposits by commercial banks. The drop in earnings came due to a fall in apparel and textile exports.



The export earnings for February stood at just over a billion dollars. Despite this, the main contributions to exports came from contributors to the exports: apparel and textiles followed by Tea and Rubber.

The USA, India, and the UK were the top export markets.

Experts say that the falling demand in Western markets was attributed to monetary tightening, requiring lower stockholdings as lower volumes make it easier to make deliveries on time. Meanwhile, exporters of finished goods said due to Rupee appreciating, they are under pressure from competition and are forced to trim margins.