The local export sector crossed the US$ 1 billion mark for the fifth time this year with October fetching an export revenue of US $.1.16 billion.

The October performance brings the total merchandise export earnings for the first 10 months of 2021 to US $. 10.05 billion, a 21.2 percent increase when compared with the corresponding period the previous year.

Total export earnings, including the estimated data services for July to October, have reached US$ 12.6 billion, fulfilling 80 percent of the year’s export revenue target.

The Export Development Board (EDB) targets to reach a US $ 15.72 billion in export revenue for the year 2021, of which US$ 12.14 billion is expected from merchandise exports and US$ 3.58 billion from services exports.