Merchandise export earnings top US$ 5.5bn in first half of the year

• June export earnings hit three-month high of US$ 978mn
• Apparel exports recover in first half to US$ 2.5bn
• Tea exports for first half tops US$ 650mn; earnings from rubber and rubber-finished products up 45% to US$ 520mn
• Services exports estimated to have risen by 20% to US$ 1.6bn in first half

Sri Lanka’s merchandise exports topped US$ 5.5 billion in the first half of the year with June earnings reaching a three-month high, flirting with the US$ 1 billion mark, according to Sri Lanka Customs data compiled by the Export Development Board (EDB).Export earnings rose by 9.41 percent year-on-year (YoY) to US$ 978.2 million in June despite the impacts of third COVID-19 wave in the country recording the second highest earnings for the year.

Sri Lanka’s overall merchandise export earnings rose by 27.5 percent YoY to US$ 5.56 billion in the first half of the year. However, it was below the pre-pandemic export earnings of US$ 5.92 billion recorded in the same period of 2020.

On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, export earnings saw a steady growth for the second consecutive month in June.

In June, apparel exports sector recorded 3 percent YoY growth to reach US$ 414.14 million, accounting for 42.3 percent of the country’s merchandise export earnings in the month. In the six-month period, apparel exports recovered by 27.97 percent YoY to US$ 2.48 billion.

Meanwhile, tea export earnings almost doubled in June, growing by 7.8 percent YoY to US$ 123.91 million, constituting for 12.7 percent of total merchandise exports in the month.

Accordingly, tea export earnings in the six-month period rose by 13.80 percent YoY to US$ 650.54 million.
In June, export earnings from rubber and rubber-finished products increased by 38.63 percent YoY to US$ 95.50 million. 

Overall, rubber and rubber-finished products recorded US$ 519.96 million in export earnings for the six-month period, up 49 percent YoY.