By: Staff Writer
March 05, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s apparel industry has issued a strong appeal to the government: secure new trade agreements now, or risk losing further ground to regional competitors.
At a recent press conference in Colombo announcing the 15th Sri Lankan Edition of the Textile Series of Exhibitions, leaders from the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) laid bare the structural disadvantages confronting the country’s largest export sector.
Their message was clear without preferential market access through Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs), Sri Lanka’s ambition to reach US$ 30 billion in exports by 2030 may remain out of reach.
JAAF Chairman Felix Fernando underscored how dramatically the global trade landscape has evolved over the past three decades. Sri Lanka once thrived by focusing on high-income Western markets.
Today, however, that strategy exposes vulnerabilities. Nearly half of the nation’s exports still flow to the European Union and the United Kingdom, creating concentration risk at a time of shifting trade policies and slowing growth.
Meanwhile, competitors have surged ahead through aggressive trade diplomacy. Bangladesh, leveraging its Least Developed Country status, enjoys zero-duty access to Japan, while Vietnam has secured multiple strategic trade agreements across Asia and beyond.
The cost implications are stark. Even if Sri Lankan manufacturers match production costs in Bangladesh, import duties imposed on Sri Lankan garments make them significantly more expensive in key markets.
Fernando argued that this structural imbalance leaves Sri Lanka effectively priced out of markets such as Japan, India, China, Australia, and Canada countries where preferential access could unlock substantial demand. Without swift negotiations to level the playing field, he warned, the industry’s survival and long-term growth prospects could be compromised.
EDB Chairman and CEO Mangala Wijesinghe acknowledged these concerns, outlining a diversification strategy embedded in the National Export Development Plan. The government is targeting new opportunities in Africa, the Middle East, and ASEAN nations.
A reactivated National Export Development Council of Ministers is currently assessing potential FTA partners, building on existing agreements with India and Pakistan and pending deals with Singapore and Thailand.
Recent export figures offer cautious optimism. National exports rose from US$ 15 billion to US$ 17.3 billion in 2025, driven partly by diversification into new product categories. Additionally, frameworks such as the United Kingdom’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme are expected to provide some relief.
Hitherto industry leaders insist incremental gains are insufficient. Without decisive trade reform, Sri Lanka risks remaining competitive in quality but uncompetitive in price. For an export-dependent economy seeking rapid expansion, the apparel sector’s appeal highlights a pressing reality: trade access is no longer optional it is existential.
