Fabric imports by the south Asian island nation of Sri Lanka is to remain volatile during this year.

The country’s fabric imports declined last year when the country faced economic problems, but it managed to control the damage quickly and imports rose again in the subsequent months indicating normal textile and apparel manufacturing.

Import declined in March from February 2022, but recovered in April. Sri Lankan inward shipment of the product again increased in May and June but dropped once again in July.

Of the island country’s total textile imports in January 2022 to June 2022, fabric was the most important component, with a contribution of 81.18 per cent.

Sri Lanka imported 39 per cent of fabric from China and 26 per cent from India. Taiwan, Pakistan and Hong Kong were among the top five suppliers.

The country’s imported yarn during the first half of 2022 accounted for 17per cent of total textile imports.

Fiber imports were 0.85 per cent. In comparison, during the first six months of last year, out of Sri Lankan textile imports, fabric imports were 79 per cent, yarn 19 per cent and fiber 0.92 per cent.

Efforts are being made to attract key players in the fabric segment to invest in fabric mills in Sri Lanka

Indian fabric is gaining ground in the Sri Lankan textile market as imports from India are increasing in the island country compared to Chinese supplies.

Sri Lanka’s fabric imports from India are witnessing an upward trend as they jumped by more than fifty per cent in four years, but its import from China remained almost stable during the same period.

Sri Lanka’s fabric imports from India increased to $565.848 million in 2021 from $374.214 million in 2017, according to Fibre Fashion’s market insight tool TexPro.

The inbound shipment had amounted to $426.046 million in 2018 and $485.160 million in 2019, before declining to $410.881 million in 2020 due to the pandemic.

However, it bounced back to $565.848 million in 2021. Sri Lanka imported fabric worth $556.921 million during January-November 2022. The total imports for 2022 are likely to surpass the shipment of 2021.

Fabric imports from China to Sri Lanka were recorded at $888.772 million in 2017 which increased to $897.101 million in 2021.

The shipment increased by just 1 per cent in four years. The imports amounted to $892.740 million in 2018 and $944.202 million in 2019.

It came down to $720.823 million in 2020 but increased to $897.101 million in 2021. Sri Lanka imported fabric worth $829.451 million in the first eleven months of 2022, as per data obtained from TexPro.

Sri Lanka’s fabric imports totaled $2.141 billion in the first eleven months of 2022. China and India were the top suppliers with a total contribution of more than 64 per cent.

The imports from China grabbed a share of 38.73 per cent, while India’s share was 26.01 per cent of the total.

Business confidence in Sri Lanka is at its lowest in years, according to the chairman of the Ceylon Chambers of Commerce Vish Govindasamy.

Sri Lanka Business Confidence dropped by 39.6 % in Nov 2022, compared with a decrease of 44.0 % YoY in the previous month.

“Business confidence is probably at its lowest since I’ve been in business. It’s probably the most difficult time that we have faced. But we are resilient,” he said.

In Sri Lanka, the Business Condition Index measures entrepreneurs’ sentiment about current business situations and expectations about business conditions. It includes Profitability, Skilled Labour Availability, Demand, Sales and Capacity Utilization.

“A slight dip in the rate of inflation fails to inspire business people, as gloom pervades the private sector,” leading business magazine LMD said, in its January edition.

Nielsen IQ’s Director – Consumer Insights Therica Miyanadeniya noted in LMD: “Year 2022, one of the most controversial and difficult in the history of Sri Lanka, is coming to an end.

As one looks back, the country has weathered turbulent times with untold hardships faced by businesses and people alike.”

“Though the fuel crisis has subsided somewhat, the cost of goods and services is keeping the rate of inflation high … However, inflation is showing signs of going down with the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) at 70.6% in October, compared to less than 75% in September,” she added.

Miyanadeniya asserted that: “the optimism that was evident in November has been quenched, and this disappointment and the continued hardships faced by business and the populace at large are also reflected in both the LMD-NielsenIQ Business Confidence Index and the Consumer Confidence Index.”

LMD reports that 75% of executives responding to the exclusive survey carried out in the first week of December anticipate that the economy in general ‘will get worse’ in the year ahead (up from 59% in November) and only one-in-10 say it will ‘stay the same’ (down from 20% in November).

“Pessimism is evident re expectations of sales volumes with only 41% of executives anticipating an increase in the next 12 months (51% in November) and 17% stating that sales volumes would ‘stay the same’,” a spokesperson for LMD added.

The magazine also noted: “Once more, there’s no significant change in executive opinion with regard to sales volumes compared to the same time last year with only 27% observing an increase in business (29% in November and 27% in October).”

LMD’s publisher, Media Services, said the latest edition of the magazine has been released. Its digital edition is also available on WhatsApp and the publisher’s social media platforms.

With its golden beaches, towering mountains, ancient monuments and stunning wildlife all encircled in the pearl of the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka is set to meet the target of 105,000 tourist arrivals for January having already received a record 62,334 tourists, tourist arrivals in the first 19 days of January.

The island nation is on its way towards meeting an end-of-year revenue target of US$ 2.8 billion from an anticipated 1.55 million arrivals

As per the latest data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), a total of 20,875 travelers arrived in the first week, while 23,295 in the second week and 10,445 in the other three days, the provisional data released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority showed.

Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Priyantha Fernando said that tourist arrivals for 2022 were at a satisfactory 719,978, which marked a 270-percent increase from the 194,495 tourists who traveled to Sri Lanka in 2021.

Mr Fernnado disclosed that a 10-year national tourism policy will be introduced in early January.

“This will help the industry have a clear vision of the industry objectives and goals. It includes regional development, increasing female participation, identifying new tourist attractions, markets and so on,” he said.

SLTDA Chief noted that around 33 to 35 percent of the travelers coming to Sri Lanka are repeat customers and it was important to ensure there are new attractions for them as well as to promote the destination through word of mouth.

The boost in arrivals was largely influenced by the Russian tourist, maintaining the lead ahead of India. Daily arrivals have also reached 3,281 compared to over 2,000 levels last year showing a significant improvement.

Russia accounted for 15,572 or 25percent of the total tourists, followed by India with 7,853 or 13percent, Germany 5,668 or 9 percent, UK with 5,033 or 8 percent, and France with 2,799 or 4 percent.

Originally for 2023, Sri Lanka Tourism set an ambitious target of 1.5 million arrivals and an income of $ 5 billion by attracting high-end travellers who spend over $ 400 per day from the current $ 200.

Despite it being a ‘crisis year’ Sri Lanka ended 2022 with 719,978 tourists, up by 207percent over 2021. Though missing the original target of 750,000 arrivals, the Minister said the provisional data shows that the earnings target of $ 1.2 billion was achieved last year.