Thursday Jun 25, 2026
Thursday Jun 25, 2026
Thursday, 25 June 2026 06:25 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Charumini de Silva
Sri Lanka’s export sector posted its highest-ever first five months’ performance, with total earnings surpassing $ 7.39 billion and reflecting a 7.56% year-on-year (YoY) growth, despite global headwinds.
The previous high was $ 6.8 billion registered last year.
The latest data released by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) showed that merchandise exports shipped in May were up 18.25% YoY to over $ 1.22 billion, whilst estimated services earnings in the month increased by 18.67% YoY to $ 347.55 million. May exports also registered a 15.01% month-on-month (MoM) increase compared to April 2026. The total earnings during the month surpassed $ 1.57 billion, reflecting an 18.34% YoY growth.
Merchandise export earnings during January-May increased by 7.63% YoY to over $ 5.75 billion, whilst services exports during the same period were estimated to have surged by 7.31% to $ 1.63 billion.
Services exports include sectors such as ICT/BPM, construction, financial services, and transport and logistics.
Addressing the media, EDB Chairman and CEO Mangala Wijesinghe described the May outcome as an outstanding achievement, with 18% YoY growth and a resilient way towards achieving the country’s annual export targets, commending exporters for navigating amid persistent global economic and trade uncertainties.
“Sri Lanka’s record performance in May and during the first five months demonstrates the sector’s ability to navigate evolving global market conditions and its resilience,” he said.
Wijesinghe remained confident that, with focused policy support and market diversification efforts, the country will be able to maintain this positive momentum despite global headwinds in the next seven months.
He attributed the decline in May tea and spices exports to tensions in the Middle East and its direct impact on shipping costs, insurance costs, logistic constraints, and operational costs, all recording sharp increases.
The EDB noted that the merchandise exports growth in May was driven largely by improved demand across the apparel, coconut and coconut-based products, food and beverage, gem and jewellery, as well as the fruits and vegetables products categories, while services exports in ICT/BPM and transport and logistics also grew significantly.
He said it was interesting to see the manufacturing sector’s contribution to the GDP has increased by 7%, overcoming the services sector’s growth.
As per the data shared by the EDB, the industrial sector showed a significant increase in performance.
Apparel and textiles remained the dominant contributor, but the sector saw a 4.84% YoY decrease between January and May 2026, reaching $ 2.03 billion. However, it posted the strongest monthly performance so far this year, up by 6.66% YoY to $ 414.72 million, signalling improving demand from key export markets after a challenging start to 2026.
Electrical and Electronic Components (EEC) exports surged by 51.79% YoY to $ 253.88 million, supported by strong performance in electrical transformers (43.84%), insulated wires and cables (58.08%), and switches, boards and panels (21.64%).
Processed food and beverages export earnings also increased by 26.63% YoY to $ 293.16 million during the first five months.
Agriculture exports also witnessed a remarkable growth during the first five months. Export earnings from coconut and coconut-based products rose significantly by 20.45% to $ 515.17 million during January-May 2026 compared to the same period last year. This performance was supported by growth across all major coconut product categories, including Coconut Kernel products (15.29%), Fibre products (11.19%), and Shell products (49.89%). The sector’s strong performance was driven by strong demand for value-added products such as Coconut Oil (26.1%), Desiccated Coconut (30.47%), Coconut Cream (15.86%), Liquid Coconut Milk (12.5%), and Activated Carbon (45.53%), reflecting continued global demand and increased value addition within the sector.
Earnings from the rubber sector increased by 4.84% to $ 404.7 million during the first five months, largely driven by improved performance in pneumatic and retreaded rubber tyres and tubes, which registered a growth of 7.62%.
Seafood exports also grew by 19.2% YoY to $ 105.49 million between January and May 2026, driven by higher exports of Frozen Fish (13.3%) and Fresh Fish (46.69%), reflecting improved volumes and stronger international demand.
However, tea exports, which comprised 12% of total merchandise exports, declined by 4.62% YoY to $ 581.91 million during the January-May 2026 period. This reduction was mainly attributed to weaker performance in key product categories, with Bulk Tea exports falling by 6.97% and Packeted Tea exports decreasing by 5.04% compared to the corresponding period in 2025.
On the services side, the ICT/BPM and financial services sectors showed positive growth during the first four months, with increases of 21.74% YoY to $ 751.53 million and 48.23% YoY to $ 30.09 million, respectively.
The robust May figures build on the positive trajectory recorded in 2025. Sri Lanka’s total export earnings reached over $ 17.25 billion last year, marking a 5.6% YoY increase and achieving nearly 95% of the $ 18.2 billion export target.
For 2026, Sri Lanka has set an ambitious export revenue target of $ 20 billion, reflecting an anticipated YoY growth of 10-12%. Merchandise exports are expected to exceed $ 15.7 billion in 2026, while services exports are projected to rise to $ 4.3 billion.
“The launch of the National Export Development Plan (NEDP) 2026–2030 marks a significant milestone in Sri Lanka’s journey towards building a more competitive, diversified, and sustainable export economy. These projections form part of a broader roadmap to boost Sri Lanka’s export earnings to $ 36 billion by 2030, comprising $ 25 billion from merchandise exports and $ 11 billion from services,” Wijesinghe added.
Among Sri Lanka’s top 15 export markets, the US, India, Italy, China, Australia, Belgium, Türkiye, Japan, and Mexico recorded positive YoY growth in both May 2026 and cumulatively for the January–May period, reflecting emerging resilience across major international markets.
The US, the largest single export destination accounting for around 22% of total merchandise exports, recorded a strong YoY increase of 10.87% to $ 240.23 million in May 2026. Meanwhile, cumulative exports for January-May 2026 reflected a marginal increase of 0.28%, reaching $ 1.18 billion compared to the corresponding period in 2025, indicating stable but relatively subdued overall growth in exports to the US market.
India strengthened its position as Sri Lanka’s second-largest export destination, surpassing the UK, with cumulative exports increasing by 7.95% YoY to $ 442.33 million during January-May 2026. In May 2026, exports to India also recorded a positive YoY growth of 3.78%. In contrast, exports to the UK increased modestly by 3.51% to $ 70.77 million in May 2026, while cumulative exports declined by 5.96% over the January-May period compared to 2025.
Exports to the European Union (EU), which represent 25.5% of Sri Lanka’s total merchandise exports, increased by 13.36% YoY to $ 262.96 million in May 2026. Similarly, during the cumulative period from January-May, they increased by 6.62% YoY to $ 1.25 billion.
