The merchandise export performance in February 2024 amounted to US$ 983.7 million, recording a modest increase of 0.17 % compared to February 2023, the Export Development Board (EDB) says.

In addition, export performance in February 2024 increased by 1.3% compared to the preceding month, January 2024.

Compared to February 2023, agricultural exports have shown a significant increase of 11.82 %, reaching US$ 255.76 million in February 2024. However, industrial exports experienced a decline of 3.36 % during the same period, dropping to US$ 727.94 million.

The cumulative merchandise exports from January to February 2024 decreased by 0.30 % to US$ 1,954.39 million compared to the corresponding period in 2023.

With respect to Sri Lanka’s performance in its top 15 major export markets, the EDB said the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and France have shown positive growth in both February 2024 and the cumulative period of January to February 2024 compared to the corresponding periods in 2023.

The USA has continued as a key export destination for Sri Lanka, absorbing 23% of the island’s merchandise exports in 2024. The exports to Sri Lanka’s single largest export destination increased by 8.02 % to US$ 249.6 million in February 2024 compared to February 2023. However, exports to the USA in the cumulative period of January - February 2024 decreased by 3.24% to US$ 470.07 million compared to the corresponding periods in 2023.

Additionally, exports to the UK increased by 20.49 % to US$ 82.93 million in February 2024 compared to the corresponding month in 2023. Meanwhile, exports to the UK increased by 2.87 % to US$ 150.45 million in the cumulative period of January to February 2024 compared to the corresponding period in 2023.

In February 2024, exports to Sri Lanka’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners India and Pakistan constituted 6.5% of the total merchandise exports, and experienced a notable 18.18 % decrease to reach US$ 61.28 million, compared to February 2023. Further, exports to India saw a decrease of 20.56 % whereas exports to Pakistan went up by 17.02 % in February 2024 compared to February 2023.

The EDB attributed the negative performance of India to lower exports of cloves (-96.79%) and petroleum oil (-92.7%), and Pakistan’s positive performance to increased exports of other textile articles.

With respect to Sri Lanka’s performance in regions, the EDB said exports to the European Union (EU), which accounts for 24% of Sri Lanka’s exports, increased during both February 2024 and the cumulative period of January - February 2024 by 5.64 % and 1.26%, respectively.

Exports to the top five EU markets were recorded as; Germany US$ 102.01 million (increased by 3.45 %), Italy US$ 100.53 million (increased by 0.25 %), the Netherlands US$ 55.64 million (increased by 2.85 %), France US$ 38.63 million (increased by 9.68 %) and Belgium US$ 35.11 million (decreased by 6.02 %) during the cumulative period of January to February 2024 in comparison to the corresponding period in 2023.