January 27, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka has set a new milestone in its export sector, with the latest report from the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) revealing that the country reached an all-time high of US$ 16.17 billion in export revenue for 2024.
This achievement surpasses the previous record of US$ 15.72 billion set in 2018, marking a significant boost in the nation’s economic performance.
The 2024 export figure is made up of US$ 12.70 billion from merchandise exports and US$ 3.46 billion from services exports, demonstrating a robust performance across various industries.
This growth highlights the resilience and competitiveness of Sri Lanka’s export sector, despite the challenges faced by global markets.
Provisional data from Sri Lanka Customs further underscores this positive trend, revealing that merchandise exports in December 2024 alone reached US$ 1,042.5 million.
This represents a 4.06 per cent increase compared to the same month in 2023, driven by strong performances in key sectors such as Apparel & Textiles, Tea, Rubber-based products, Coconut products, Spices & Concentrates, and Food & Beverages.
In addition to merchandise, services exports also saw impressive growth in December 2024, with earnings estimated at US$ 322.92 million.
This reflects a significant 29.96 per cent year-on-year increase, highlighting the expansion of the services sector, which has been increasingly important to Sri Lanka’s export diversification strategy.
Overall, the total export earnings for December 2024, combining both merchandise and services, reached US$ 1,365.42 million.
This represents a moderate year-on-year growth of 9.21 per cent, reinforcing the trend of steady progress across both goods and services exports.
