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Monday, 16 November 2020 00:17 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
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| EDB Chairman Prabhash Subasinghe
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The emergence of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in October has impacted the performance of exports, which saw strong momentum since June.
As per the Customs statistics, earnings from merchandise exports recorded a negative growth of 14.9% in October 2020 to $ 831.72 million as compared to the value of $ 977.3 million a year earlier.
“This poor performance is due to the adverse impact of 2nd wave of COVID 19 pandemic within the country and globally,” Export Development Chairman Prabhash Subasinghe said.
“It is concerning to see a sharp reduction in exports in October due to the COVID-19 eruption in Sri Lanka which has had a direct impact on our manufacturing and export facilities. The exporters’ order book is full for the rest of the year and the businesses need to be agile to manage through the COVID-19 disruption. European markets have moved into a lockdown phase and the USA has also reported very high COVID-19 numbers, this will have a significant impact on our market access. Our exporters will need to navigate this uncharted territory in order to maintain business continuity,” Subasinghe added.
Increases in exports were recorded only in the Europe Region (6.45%) in October 2020 compared to October 2019. Moreover, earnings from merchandise exports absorbed by United Kingdom in October 2020 increased by 38.93 %.
Following October data, EDB has revised export target for 2020 to $ 13.39 billion and of that it expects $ 9.57 billion from merchandise exports and $ 3.82 billion from services exports. During the period January to October 2020, earnings from exports recorded $ 10.81 billion including the estimated services data for July to October and 80.75% achieved from the revised export target.
Export earnings from Apparel and Textiles declined by 18.93% to $ 356.52 million in October 2020 as against last year. In comparison to September 2020, the performance in October was down by 17.45%. EBD said despite the decline, earnings from exports of other textiles increased by 43.92% in October 2020 in comparison to October 2019.
Export earnings from Tea in September 2020 which made up 12% of merchandise exports decreased by 1.38 % y-o-y to $ 112.22 million and the export volume declined by 10.57% in October 2020. In addition, export earnings from Tea recorded a 1.55% increase in October 2020 in comparison to September 2020.
In addition, export earnings from Rubber and Rubber finished products have increased by 12.4 % y-o-y to $ 80.3 million in October 2020 due to the better performance in exports of Pneumatic and Retreated Rubber Tyres and Tubes (8.49%) and Industrial and Surgical Gloves of Rubber (36.27%).
However, exports of Rubber Plates, Sheets Rods of Vulcanised or Unhardened Rubber, Gaskets, Washers, Seals etc. of Hard Rubber and Hygienic or Pharmaceutical Articles have decreased by 39.93 %, 10.04% and 65.71% respectively in October 2020.
Earnings from all the major categories of Coconut-based products increased in October 2020 compared with October 2019. Earnings from Coconut Oil, Coconut Milk Powder, Coconut Cream, Liquid Coconut Milk, and Coconut Flour categorised under Coconut Kernel Products increased by 70.46%, 41.67%, 72.64% and 208.7% respectively in October 2020 from a year earlier.
Being the largest contributor to Coconut based sector, Coco Peat, Fibre Pith and Moulded products categorised under the Coconut fibre products increased by 30.64% to $ 13.09 million in October 2020. Earnings from Activated Carbon, categorised under Coconut shell products, increased by 17.61% in October 2020 compared to a year ago.
Export earnings from Spices and Essential Oils have increased by 3.71% to $ 33.8 million in October 2020 due to the better performance recorded in exports of cinnamon (10.16%).
Earnings from export of Electrical and Electronic Components (EEC) decreased by 37.51% to $ 20.49 million in October. Earnings from export of EEC decreased by 44.64% in October compared with September 2020. Despite the decline in the sector, export of Printed Circuits recorded an increase of 4.17% in October 2020 compared to October 2019.
Total merchandise export earnings for January to October 2020 was $ 8,233.21 million, down by 16.4% from the corresponding period of last year.
Major exports such as Apparel and Textiles ($ 3,630.41 million), Tea ($ 1,031.78 million), Rubber and Rubber based products ($ 667.14 million) and Electrical and Electronic Components ($ 266.71 million) recorded decrease of 21.29%, 9.42%, 11.49% and 17.64% respectively.
However, export of Coconut and Coconut-based products ($ 552.74 million), Spices and Concentrates ($ 268.33 million) and Other Export crops ($ 63.77 million) recorded positive growth rates during the period.
EDB said the export sectors that show positive growth at disaggregate level includes export of Made-up Textile Articles, Other Textile Articles, Industrial and Surgical Gloves of Rubber, Coconut Oil, Coconut Milk Powder, Coconut Cream, Liquid Coconut Milk, Coconut Flour, Coconut Vinegar, Coco Peat, Fibre Pith and Moulded products, Coconut Husk Chips, Activated Carbon, Coconut Shell Pieces, Powder and Charcoal, Cinnamon, Essential Oils, Ginger, Processed Vegetables, Fruits and Juices, Sugars, Sugar Confectionery and Bakery Products, Rice, Black Gram, Lentils, Betel Leaves, Arecanuts, Starches, Glues, Enzymes, Gloves, Mitts and Mittens (Plastic Products), Natural Salt and Petroleum Gases.
Earnings from export of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) related products increased by 46% to $ 731.63 million in January to October 2020 compared with the value of $ 501.13 million recorded in the corresponding period of previous year. The strong performance was mainly due to the increased exports of Other made-up articles (HS 630790) and Articles of apparel and clothing accessories of plastics (HS 392620).
The top five export destinations during the period January-October 2020 were the United States of America ($ 2,089.2 million), United Kingdom ($ 766.72 million) India ($ 498.79 million), Germany ($ 478.96 million) and Italy ($ 371.58 million) absorbed over 50% of exports recorded in the period.
Being the largest single export destination, United States of America has absorbed $ 197.06 m worth of exports in October 2020 recording a decline of 17.88 % in comparison to $ 252.16 m absorbed in October 2019. Also, exports to United States of America decreased by 19.32 % in January-October 2020 in comparison to October 2019.
Exports to United Kingdom as the largest trading partner in the EU Region recorded an increase of 38.93% to $ 102.52 million in October 2020 compared with October 2019. Further, exports to Netherlands, Canada, China, Turkey and Russia have also shown better performance during the month of October 2020.
Except EU Region (6.45%), exports to other regions; South Asia, Asean, CIS, African and Middle East Countries have decreased 30.08%, 21.44%, 27.01%, 7% and 39.13% respectively in October 2020 compared with October 2019.
The services exports estimated by EDB which includes ICT/BPM, Construction, Financial Services and Transport and Logistics show exports of $ 2,577 million for the period of January to October 2020 compared to $ 3,208 million recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year. However, estimated service exports declined by 19.66% during the period of January to October 2020 compared with the corresponding period of previous year.
Further, earnings from Merchandise exports and services exports achieved 86.02 % and 67.53% respectively during the period of January to October 2020.
