Petroleum, logistics eyed as new export growth drivers

Thursday, 25 June 2026 06:43 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka is looking to leverage its strategic location and expand petroleum-related and logistics exports as part of an ambitious plan to more than double export earnings to $ 36 billion, according to Export Development Board (EDB) Chairman Mangala Wijesinghe.

Speaking at a media briefing yesterday, Wijesinghe revealed that several proposals aimed at boosting petroleum-linked export activities are currently under evaluation, following discussions involving the Board of Investment (BOI), the relevant Ministry, and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC).

“As we seek to expand export earnings from around $ 17 billion currently to $ 36 billion over the coming years, sectors linked to transport, logistics, and petroleum-based products will play an important role,” he said.

Wijesinghe said Sri Lanka had received a number of promising proposals in the petroleum and logistics space, adding that value-added activities linked to petroleum products could generate additional export revenue while strengthening the country’s role as a regional trade and maritime hub.

The renewed focus on petroleum-related exports comes amid growing interest in positioning Sri Lanka as an energy, logistics, and services hub in the Indian Ocean, with authorities seeking new sources of foreign exchange earnings and investment.

At the same time, the EDB Chairman stressed that achieving the country’s export ambitions would depend heavily on implementing a series of long-awaited policy and institutional reforms identified under the National Export Development Plan (NEDP).

He said reforms relating to the EDB, trade facilitation, and the wider export ecosystem were being finalised through collaboration between the EDB, Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Ministry, and Finance Ministry.

While declining to provide a firm implementation deadline, Wijesinghe said the reforms were being treated as a priority given their importance to meeting Sri Lanka’s five-year export targets.

“Our objective is to implement these measures as quickly as possible,” he said, noting that export growth would require not only new sectors and investment but also a more efficient trade and regulatory framework.