Sri Lanka recorded export earnings of US$ 12.7 billion from merchandising and 3.4 billion dollars from services last year. “This is our highest export achievement in the last four decades,” the Chairman/CEO of Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) Mangala Wijesinghe revealed, on LMDtv recently.

“This year, we are planning to reach US$ 18.2 billion with more than 14 percent exports,” he added.

Wijesinghe explained that “at the moment, Sri Lanka’s export sector represents 19.6 percent of GDP, and we’re planning to surpass 25 percent by 2030. To achieve this, we have to increase our export revenue to 36 billion dollars. This ambitious target is a serious requirement for the country.”

In terms of merchandising exports, apparel tops the list as the highest performing export while tea, rubber, coconut, spices, food and beverages, gems and jewellery, electronics and ornamental fish are other key export items. Sri Lanka’s service exports include the ICT and BPM sectors, while construction, logistics and transport are other areas of focus.

While the nation is working towards meeting its ambitious export objectives, US President Donald Trump’s tariff war and its impact on Sri Lanka continues to loom on the horizon.

He noted: “The United States is our largest export destination – last year, we recorded US$ 2.9 billion in export reve­nue to the US. This represents more than 25 percent of total exports, out of which apparel tops the charts with others such as rubber and coconut also on the list.”

On the other hand, some experts say that the US tariffs are a wake-up call for Sri Lanka, which has maintained an overly protective trade regime. Wijesinghe agrees: “This is a turning point for Sri Lanka.”

With the government’s hope to reach US$ 36 billion in exports, there are several plans and models in place.

“First of all, we were able to reactivate our Export Development Council of Ministers, which is the executive arm of the Export Development Board. It had not met since 1992. By reactivating this council and having meetings every quarter, we will be able to make policy level decisions including those that are needed to help exporters overcome difficulties and bottlenecks,” he noted.

Wijesinghe continued: “We are also planning to diversify our export markets to avoid overly depending on any country. So while expanding our presence in existing markets, we’re also planning to move into other regions such as the Middle East, Africa, and some nations in the EU and Asia.”

Sri Lanka also needs to work on product differentiation, he asserted: “We will be focussing on product enhancement to improve competitiveness. We have to invest in innovation, value addition and branding, which can differentiate Sri Lankan products in the inter­national market.”

Exporters face major challenges in obtaining the necessary approvals to facilitate trade. Wijesinghe charged that “it’s very difficult to obtain approvals. According to existing procedures, it takes more than 130 weeks on average to obtain approval to start a new
export business.” Other countries have reduced this time frame to a great extent.

He elaborated: “In India, authorities grant approval within 90 days. And in Vietnam, it takes only 14 days – and there are plans to reduce this to seven days. Meanwhile, Japan only takes a week to grant approval and is planning to reduce this to less than three days. Countries are quickly moving towards efficiency.”

Another key area for improvement pertains to FTAs, he stated: “We have very few free trade agreements; but to develop this country, it is necessary to establish many more.”

“Sri Lanka needs to sign more free trade agreements; and we’ve identified several countries that we are working with through our embassies. There are many plans in place and everyone has to work together for them to reach fruition,” he said, in concluding his interview with Ruwandi Perera.