Monday May 25, 2026
Monday May 25, 2026
Monday, 25 May 2026 05:37 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka’s apparel exports registered a weaker performance in April, with earnings declining 4.72% year-on-year (YoY) to $ 328.15 million from $ 344.4 million a year earlier, reflecting continued pressure in several major export markets.
According to the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), the slowdown was mainly driven by weaker demand from traditional markets including the UK, European Union (EU), and the US.
Exports to the UK fell by 16.91% YoY to $ 44.82 million during April, while shipments to the EU declined by 8.78% YoY to $ 103.04 million and exports to the US dropped by 3.46% YoY to $ 117.67 million.
However, apparel exports to other markets grew by 12.61% YoY to $ 62.62 million during the month, indicating potential for greater market diversification and expansion beyond Sri Lanka’s traditional export destinations.
For the first four months of 2026, total apparel export earnings declined by 7.47% YoY to $ 1.53 billion, highlighting ongoing challenges in the global apparel trade environment.
The JAAF said the performance reflects difficult global demand conditions, but also highlights the need for Sri Lanka to strengthen its competitiveness and accelerate structural improvements within the sector.
The industry body stressed the importance of improving cost structures, expanding market access, and moving more rapidly towards higher-value apparel products and services.
“While this performance reflects challenging global demand conditions, it also reinforces the need for Sri Lanka to sharpen its competitiveness, improve cost structures, strengthen market access, and move faster into higher-value opportunities,” the JAAF stated.
Despite the current slowdown, the Association maintained that the industry’s long-term fundamentals remain strong.
The JAAF said achieving sustained export growth and eventually surpassing the $ 5 billion export milestone would require coordinated national support measures.
The Association called for greater policy consistency, energy cost reforms, trade facilitation, skills development, and stronger positioning in both traditional and emerging export markets.
“The apparel industry continues to be one of Sri Lanka’s most important foreign exchange earners, and its ability to recover and grow will be critical to the country’s broader export economy,” the JAAF added.
Sri Lanka’s apparel sector remains the country’s largest merchandise export industry and a key source of employment, foreign exchange earnings, and industrial investment. In 2025, total earnings from apparel exports were over $ 4.9 billion up by 5.34%.
