Sri Lanka Export Development Board (SLEDB) new Chairman Suresh de Mel this week expressed confidence of giving the best shot at realising a near $ 16 billion target for 2021 despite domestic and global challenges. This confidence stems from a plethora of new initiatives as well as fine-tuning existing endeavours to develop and boost exports.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) is forecasting a performance of $ 15.68 billion in merchandise and service shipments in 2021.
The US$ 13.5 billion export target set for merchandise export sectors in early 2020 remains challenging, requiring not only strong efforts from local enterprises, but also the recovery of global demand amid complicated Covid-19 situation. Amid severe impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, Sri Lanka’s merchandise exports remain at US$ 9.9 billion in 2020, which is a 104 % achievement from the revised forecast of US$ 9.5 billion.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) last week successfully completed its 30 th capacity-development webinar session to the exporter community and SMEs. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic situation of the country, the EDB could not carry out its conventional capacity development programmes such as workshops and seminars, due to the health regulations imposed on people-gathering activities. As an alternative method, online sessions were conducted to enhance the capacity and knowledge of exporters and SMEs in Sri Lanka.
Against a transformative and competitive regional backdrop, Sri Lanka aspires to become South Asia’s logistics hub. The leading impetus to this ambitious vision is Sri Lanka’s National Export Strategy (NES); and its prominence to the logistics industry. Directly employing roughly over 50,000 people industry-wide, the sector has an ambitious vision to grow from a traditional transshipment hub to a regional logistics center. Recognized as one of the fastest-growing transshipment hubs in the world, Sri Lanka offers a unique package of innovative multi-modal logistics services.
Bringing the best of Wellness Tourism to a domestic audience, the Sri Lanka Wellness Tourism Association (SLWTA) and the Export Development Board (EDB) concluded its third and final webinar of a tri-part series – Wellness: A New Paradigm in Sri Lankan Tourism, recently. Culminating with its final session on 10 July, a panel of high-profile industry experts comprising of Prof. Lal Chandrasena, GM, Nawaloka Hospitals; Dr. Lakith Peiris, MD, Hemas Hospitals; Dr. Shantha Godagama, President, UK Ayurvedic Medical Association; Dr. Palitha Serasinghe, Founder and Chairman of Setramed UK; Shalin Balasuriya, Co-Founder of SPA Ceylon; shared several exceptional insights, with Trevor Reckerman, Chairman, SLWTA summarising how Sri Lanka can position itself in the global wellness industry, through a well structured national action plan.
To strengthen quality and preserve originality, the Export Development Board (EDB) has kicked-off licencing of ‘Ceylon Spices’ trademark for qualifying producers, processors and exporters of cinnamon, pepper, clove, nutmeg and mace as well as cardamom.
Sri Lanka’s Wellness Tourism industry received a new impetus when the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) recognized Wellness Tourism as a thrust sector under the National Export Strategy (NES) 2018-22, as the island has natural and traditional endowments that can be used to develop a sustainable Wellness Tourism industry. Ever since then, the EDB has undertaken ground-breaking initiatives to make Wellness Tourism one of the top income earners of the country.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), with the assistance of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Germany and the Ministry of Foreign Relations, organised a free webinar on 15 July, on matchmaking and market entry opportunities available for Sri Lankan electronic and electrical sector exporters.
Earnings from merchandise exports rebounded in June 2020 to US $ 906.02 Mn as per the Customs statistics, with the export sector progressively commencing actions following the relaxation of lockdown measures and the recovery of both domestic and global supply and demand chains to some extent.
The world economy is in partial paralysis. The COVID-19 ripple effect is more than just a recession, it’s causing a global economic shutdown. The virus that initially triggered a supply and demand shock in China spread throughout the world creating shocks that amplified the impact; not just in the flows of trade and tourists, but also in global financial markets...........
According to monthly exports statistics, merchandize export earnings have decreased by nearly 42% to US $ 646 Mn from US $ 1112 recorded in March 2019.
Following our statement last week, the EDB strengthens our clarion call to understand that exports are now our nation’s number one priority. As the COVID-19 crisis intensifies across the globe, we at the EDB have taken a strong stance and realized that it is the export sector that will get Sri Lanka through this crisis. During these times of unparalleled circumstances, we see a large impact on Sri Lanka’s foreign direct investment, our tourism sector and our country’s overall economic standing. Therefore, we ask other government agencies to recognize and support the export sector during this time. For all exporters, it is imperative to take immediate action. The foreign exchange that we bring in through the export sector is essential in our efforts to survive this crisis as a nation.
It’s a difficult moment for the world. We are fighting the coronavirus pandemic whilst our nation’s exporters have been facing challenging times for the past two months. The EDB requests that now more than ever, the time has come for us to prepare our businesses to stay up and running. As a nation, we are no stranger to disaster, having faced our fair share of adversity. We are confident that we will weather this storm and as we have done in the past, Sri Lanka will emerge stronger than ever and continue focusing on our main goal - recommencing exports, restoring them to their former level and increasing them.
Considering the unprecedented disruption to the global economy and trade due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Export Development Board has revised its 2020 exports forecast by a hefty 42% to $10.75 billion.
The Central Bank on 27th March 2020 announced a series of wide-ranging financial concessions to alleviate the hardships businesses are facing owing to the impact of Covid-19. The concessions are applicable to the entire gamut of organisations ranging from large corporate to self-employed individuals, and particularly to export-related enterprises. The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) took the initiative in bringing the severity of the crisis situation the business community, particularly the export sector, is facing and the dire need to give relief, to the notice of the Central Bank and other key Government stakeholders.
If you looking for an opportunity to find business partners such as Cannon, Fujithsu, Hithachi in the Lucrative Japanese market? Or are you thinking on how to invade into the Japanese Market. If so, never to miss this opportunity. EDB is calling for the applications from the companies with the cutting edge technologies to join it’s delegation to Japan IT Week 2020 from 8th -10th April 2020.
The global trading environment is evolving rapidly with numerous developments in global production networks and global value chains. These developments are a result of product fragmentation; cross boarder dispersion of components and production/assembly. Each country specializes in a particular stage of production sequence and trades the value added components which ultimately results in the final product.
Sri Lanka doubled its export promotion efforts last year in comparison to 2018, enabling the private sector, especially the small and medium segment, to succeed amidst growing competition and other challenges.
Export Development Board (EDB) Chairman Prabhash Subasinghe yesterday urged that boosting exports must be everyone’s priority, as the key agency set an ambitious yet achievable target of $ 18.5 billion this year, up by 15% from 2019. EDB revealed that as per provisional data, last year Sri Lanka’s total merchandise and service exports amounted to $ 16.14 billion up by 1.44% from 2018. The composition was merchandise exports were $ 11.9 billion, up 0.13% and service exports were $ 4.2 billion, up by 5.3% from 2018. EDB originally targeted $ 18.5 billion exports for 2019, and the estimated performance reflects achievement of 87% of the goal.