| Web Site Tools |
|
|
|
|
| Company Info |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Industry Info |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Foods For Trade |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Other Links |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sri Lanka
| Economy Overview |
| In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2003, plantation crops made up only 15% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an average annual rate of 5.5% in the early 1990s until a drought and a deteriorating security situation lowered growth to 3.8% in 1996. The economy rebounded in 1997-2000 with average growth of 5.3%, but 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, -1.4%, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Growth recovered to 4.0% in 2002 and to 5.2% in both 2003 and 2004. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for a largely independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took about 31,000 lives, left more than 6,300 missing and 443,000 displaced, and destroyed an estimated $1.5 billion worth of property. |
 |
| Economy Statistics |
| Exports: |
$5.306 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) [?]
This entry provides the total US dollar amount of merchandise exports on an f.o.b. (free on board) basis. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
|
Export
Commodities: |
textiles and apparel; tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products; rubber manufactures, fish [?]
This entry provides a rank ordering of exported products starting with the most important; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
|
Export
Partners: |
US 32.4%, UK 13.5%, India 6.8%, Germany 4.8% (2004) [?]
This entry provides a rank ordering of trading partners starting with the most important; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
|
| Imports: |
$7.265 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) [?]
This entry provides the total US dollar amount of merchandise imports on a c.i.f. (cost, insurance, and freight) or f.o.b. (free on board) basis. These figures are calculated on an exchange rate basis, i.e., not in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms.
|
Import
Commodities: |
textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment [?]
This entry provides a rank ordering of imported products starting with the most important; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
|
Import
Partners: |
India 18%, Singapore 8.7%, Hong Kong 7.7%, China 5.7%, Iran 5.2%, Japan 5.1%, Malaysia 4.1% (2004) [?]
This entry provides a rank ordering of trading partners starting with the most important; it sometimes includes the percent of total dollar value.
|
|
|
|
| National Chamber Of Commerce of Sri Lanka |
| Address: |
450, D.R.Wijewardena Mawatha, Colombo 10 Sri Lanka |
| Phone: |
+094 5 374801-4/6/7 |
| Fax: |
+094 1 2689596 |
| Website: |
http://www.nccsl.lk/ |
|
|
|
|
