Lanka exports win hat trick in 1H

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  • Highest 1H in 5 yrs, also YoY & MoM surge to $5.4B!
  • โ€˜Course set for 2020!โ€™-Rishad
  • ย Manufacture, agro & industries lead five Yr jump
  • YoY 1H led by fisheries, agro & apparels

Sri Lankaโ€™s exports sector has clinched a triple win for 2014 1H (January-June) โ€“a first time event. โ€œLatest reports are good news for our $20B goal. We should commend our committed exporters for this achievementโ€ said an upbeat Rishad Bathiudeen (Minister of Industry and Commerce of Sri Lanka) on 28 July in Colombo.

Minister Bathiudeen was responding to Bandula Egodage (Chairman/CEO-EDB) who briefed him of the latest provisional export revenues on 28 July in Colombo.

 

Accordingly, Sri Lankaโ€™s latest provisional export numbers have recorded the highest first half earnings witnessed in five years, topping it up with a YoY revenue jump in 1H -2014 in comparison to 1H-2013, while also surging on a monthly basis in May-June โ€˜14.

 

Monthly increase in 2014 June is also a steady continuation of the upward trend of quarterly exports that began in March โ€˜14.

 

Sri Lanka January-June โ€™14 provisional exports recorded the highest 1H earnings since Y2010, and registered $5410.4 Mn ($5.4B) in total. This is a huge 45% jump from H1 2010 which stood at $3741 Mn. โ€˜Manufacturing exportsโ€™ led the surge of 1H 2010 to 1H 2014 five year span, rising by almost 100%, followed by agro exports (by 70%), industrial exports (by 69%), fisheries exports (by 65%), apparels (by 57%) and tea (by 56%).

 

The latest rise is also seen YoY-in comparison to 1H-2013 ($4.66B), 1H-2014 increased by 16.08%. As for 2013/โ€™14 YoY key sectors of growth for 1H, fisheries spearheaded the surge with a rise of 24% (to $140.22 Mn), followed by agriculture (rising by 22% to $1303.2 Mn), apparel (rising by 20.40% to $2400.5 Mn), unclassified (rising by 17% to $ 18.81 Mn), manufacturing (rising by 14.15% to $ 1171.39 Mn) and industrial products (rising by 14% to $ 3948.19 Mn). On a 1H YoY comparison of export regions, the highest exports growth is seen from the African region (41%), followed by EU (19%) and the Middle East (19%), US (17%), Central and Eastern Europe (15%), BRICS (14%), Latin America (12%), South Asia (11%) and CISย ย ย ย ย  (6%). Leading five markets (countries) of exports on YoY in 1H 2014 are US, UK, Italy, India, and Germany.

 

On a monthly basis, latest provisional exports for June โ€˜14 have risen by 12.09% to $988.63 Mn from โ€™14 Mayโ€™s $882 Mn. Textiles and garments spearheaded the monthly growth, rising by 22.32% to $444.39 Mn, followed by industrial products (rising by 14.12% to $714.68 Mn), agricultural products (rising by 10.26% to $251.80 Mn), manufacturing (rising by 2.36% to $204.59 Mn), and petroleum products (rising by 1.69% to $30 Mn). Within agricultural products, tea exports have grown by 9.06% to $151.13Mn, coconut grew by 5.01% to $ 48.25 Mn, and other export crops (such as spices, fruits and vegetables) have grown by 22.08% to $49.48 Mn. Within manufacturing, electronic, electric and machinery products rose by 3.13% to $ 31 Mn, footwear rose by 46% to $ 9.03 Mn.

 

Countryโ€™s apex export body, the EDB, is now working towards $20B export goal by 2020.