Frontpage Journal | Current Affairs
Sri Lanka’s export performance recorded a positive uptick in the opening months of 2025, according to data published by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. In January 2025, merchandise export earnings reached US$ 1,052.8 million, constituting an 8.5 per cent year-on-year increase compared with January 2024. The full-year export earnings for 2024 also rose, reaching US$ 12,772 million and marking a 7.2 per cent growth over 2023.
This growth in export earnings at the outset of 2025 signals momentum in strengthening external sector resilience, a key pillar of Sri Lanka’s macro-economic recovery and foreign exchange stabilisation. The improved export performance helps support the current account, cushions external pressures and broadens the country’s earnings base beyond traditional sectors.
For policy-makers, industry leaders and entrepreneurs this development carries multiple implications. First, improved export earnings enhance the scope for domestic value‐addition, industrialisation and diversification of products and markets. Second, with higher export earnings, the country is better positioned to service external obligations, build reserves and bolster investor confidence. Third, the expanding export base offers opportunities for Sri Lankan firms to deepen linkages in global value chains, thereby contributing to employment, productivity gains and improved incomes at the microeconomic level.
However, this positive start must be consolidated. The trade deficit remains a challenge, as import growth continues to outpace exports in some months. Export growth will need to be backed by structural reforms, in logistics, export facilitation, supply-chain efficiency, product innovation and market access. Firms must respond aggressively to global shifts, strengthen competitiveness and work with policy-makers to sustain upward momentum.
In macroeconomic terms, strong export growth contributes directly to GDP growth, foreign exchange earnings and external stability. As Sri Lanka looks to recover from its recent economic crisis, strengthening exports is not merely a target but a strategic imperative. Sustained export growth enables the economy to move away from imbalances, reduce vulnerability to external shocks and lay a foundation for inclusive growth.
For entrepreneurs and industry stakeholders, the message is clear: the beginning of 2025 shows promise, but the window is open now. By aligning operations, chasing new markets, leaning into export-oriented innovation and collaborating with government programmes aimed at trade facilitation, Sri Lankan business can consolidate the gains, support national recovery and create higher value for the economy and society.
As the Central Bank’s data shows, the external sector is moving in the right direction. But turning a promising quarter into a sustained upward trend will require concerted effort across government, industry and enterprise.
