Exports net $ 1 b for second month

Friday, 20 December 2013 01:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

November crossing of $ 1 b milestone supports October feat, says Bathiudeen
First 9 months figure tops $ 9 b mark

The country’s exports have surpassed the $ 1 billion mark for the second consecutive month, reaffirming resilience despite major challenges. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce said yesterday that exports in November amounted to $ 1.054 million, up by 5.8% over the corresponding month of the previous year. In October exports reached the previous best of $ 1.04 billion. It was the first time exports crossed the one billion dollar mark. Year-on-year October recorded a 35% increase, the highest growth rate recorded since May 2011. “The trend of export surge continues. Our latest November export values support October’s record exports. It also shows a year-on-year rise of more than 5%,” Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen said yesterday, acknowledging the provisional export data provided to him by EDB during the Ministry’s annual performance review on Wednesday. In a statement the Ministry said according to EDB’s latest provisional export values, October’s historic “above $ 1 billion trend” appears to continue and in November as exports notched up another monthly highest at $ 1.054 b. Meanwhile 2013 January to November exports (provisional) totalled a strong $ 9.422 b, resulting in a January-November YoY increase of 5.18% in comparison to 2012. Within the month of November 2013, the leading growth drivers were Industrial Products and Unclassified Products. Industrial Products grew by 3.42% in November (in comparison to October ’13) to $ 783.05 m while Unclassified Products grew by 7.91% to $ 16.23 m. Within Industrial Products, sub categories of Diamonds, Gems and Jewellery, Apparels, Leather, Chemical Products, Plastic Products, Footwear, and Electronic, Electrical, Machinery Products and Parts steered growth. Apparels strongly grew by 12.76% to $ 489.99 m in November, Diamonds, Gems & Jewellery grew within the month’s period by 48.54% to $ 56.15 m, Electronic, Electrical, Machinery Products and Parts grew by 4.74% to $ 34.42 m, Footwear grew by 71.8%, and Petroleum Products grew by 1.35% to $ 31.52 m, Leather grew by 79.78% to $ 3.38 m, while Chemical Products grew by 24%, and Plastic Products grew by 10.42%. Seen from a year-on-year basis (2013 January-November vs. 2012 January-November), overall Industrial exports have grown by 4.03% to $ 6.894 b from 2012’s $ 6.627 b, led by Apparels (in the same period), which strongly surged by 11.47% to $ 4.039 b (from 2012’s $ 3.608 b). Agricultural products also grew by 10.19% to $ 2.248 b (from 2012’s $ 2.04 b) and tea exports have grown by a considerable 9.48% to $ 1.380 b (from 2012’s $1.260 b). Other export crops have grown by 45.47% to $ 480.10 m (from 2012’s $ 330.04 m), and fisheries has grown by 18.72% to $ 220.35 m (from 2012’s $ 185.6 m). On a YoY basis, top three major export regions of Sri Lanka remained in the same ascending order throughout 2011-’13: EU, USA and the Middle East.

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