Sri Lanka's Apex Organisation for Export Promotion
The official delegation from the Department for International Trade in the UK visited the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) on 16th March 2023 to discuss the opportunities for Sri Lanka’s export sector under Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) to be launched by the Government of UK. Ms. Sofie Kinsey, Trade Preferences Policy Manager for Sri Lanka, Mr. Fabian Hartwell, Overseas Trade Policy Advisor for South Asia, and Ms. Asanthi Fernando, Deputy Head of Trade & Investment at the British High Commission in Colombo participated in the discussions at the EDB with the objective of identifying potential export sectors for Sri Lanka to expand in the UK market utilizing the UK DCTS.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) recently conducted an awareness seminar on “Facilitation of agricultural exporters under the Temporary Import for Export Processing (TIEP) Scheme”with the participation of 85 export companies from the agricultural sector.
Sri Lanka is globally known as an emerging destination for IT and IT enabled services. ICT/BPM industry is in the front line of the export earning sectors in Sri Lanka and achieved this position in a shorter period of time when compared with other traditional export sectors. One of the reasons for this development is that Sri Lanka has an important resource than any other country – the talent.
A delegation from Sri Lanka participated in the BIOFACH Trade Fair, the world’s largest annual organic food products trade show held from 14-17 February 2023 in Nuremberg, Germany. This annual trade fair held since 1990 attracts food industry professionals from across the world. This year, 2,765 exhibitors from 95 countries participated in the trade fair. The fair was also attended by 36,000 trade visitors from 135 countries. Germany is one of the largest organic food markets in the world and BIOFACH figures show that the organic sector recorded revenues of €15.3 billion for the German organic market in 2022. In Europe, Germany is the largest market for organic products as well as the largest organic producer. In addition, veganism is increasingly popular in Germany creating export opportunities for meat and dairy substitutes as well as breakfast foods.
Sri Lanka’s merchandise exports decreased by 8.98 % to US$ 1,001.9 Million in January 2023 compared to January 2022 as per the data released by the Sri Lanka Customs. However, it is a 6.97% increase when compared to January 2021
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Printcare Digital Solutions Pvt Ltd, one of Sri Lanka’s leading printing and packaging solutions providers.
Sri Lanka is well known for its technology enabled services. Despite being a small country in South Asia, the tech innovations of the country is chosen by many global clients as their technology partner or offshore service delivery destination. Along with the global reputation of being the “Island of Ingenuity” and with the enormous opportunities created by the brand image, Sri Lankan ICT/BPM companies are expanding their horizons in global marketplace.
A high-level business Delegation from the Sverdlovsk Regional Government of Russian Federation visited Sri Lanka for a three-day programme from 23rd to 26th January 2023. Mr. Vladimir Smirnov, Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka in Sverdlovsk Region led the Business delegation which included prominent business leaders from the Region.
Earnings from the merchandise exports decreased by 9.7 % y-o-y to US$ 1,044 Mn in December 2022 as per the data released by the Sri Lanka Customs. This was mainly due to the decrease in export earnings from Apparel & Textiles, Tea, Rubber based Products, and Coconut based Products, Food & Beverages, Spices & Essential Oils and Fisheries products.
Sri Lanka Export Development Board presents its flagship statistical publication “Export Performance Indicators 2021”. The latest edition provides statistical information related to Sri Lanka’s external trade and its contribution to major economic indicators such as trade balance, GDP and individual sectoral involvement for the year 2021 and five preceding years.
