Sri Lankans in large numbers fed up with the country’s economic crisis are increasingly desperate to go abroad for jobs where they can make the rupee plunge and help their families survive in hyperinflation by earning much needed foreign exchange to remit it home.

With the prevailing deep economic and political crisis in the country driving the demand for foreign employment to unprecedented levels, the government expects the official outward labour migration to reach a new all-time high of 330,000 this year.

Given the demand for foreign employment in Sri Lanka, we will now facilitate 330,000 foreign employment by the end of this year,” Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara announced last Saturday.

Accordingly, the senior management of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) has reviewed and revised its annual business plan.

The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment said that more than 120,000 people have gone abroad for employment in the first five months of 2022.

The Additional General Manager for International Affairs Mangala Randeniya said that this was a 100% spike compared to the previous year.

He also stated that only 122,000 people left for foreign employment in 2021

As of August 1, 174,584 Sri Lankans departed the country for foreign employment by registering with the SLBFE.

However, the actual outward labour migration numbers are estimated to be much higher. So far, Sri Lanka has only seen one instance where outward labour migration exceeded 300,000. In 2014, the country recorded 300,703 in outward labour migrations.

In 2021, 117,952 Sri Lankans departed the country for foreign employment, including around 78,000 new foreign employment seekers.

The vast majority of Sri Lankans are leaving the country for foreign employment in the unskilled and domestic aid (mostly housemaid) categories.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE and Oman remained as preferred destinations, accounting for over 80 percent of these departures.

Recently, the government relaxed some of the barriers, encouraging the employees in the public sector to take up foreign employment opportunities.

The SLBFE has also launched a survey to identify the demand for foreign employment in the public sector.

Meanwhile, Nanayakkara revealed that worker remittance inflows had improved in July after declining to US $ 274 million in June.

For the first half, inward remittances plunged by 51.6 percent year-on-year to US $ 1.6 billion, with migrant workers continuing to remit a large swath of their earnings through unofficial channels such as Undiyal and Hawala, due to the attractive parallel exchange rates.

In the backdrop of declining volumes, tea prices are on the rise sharply with July establishing record National Sales Averages both in rupee and dollar terms.

Forbes and Walker Tea Brokers said in July, as well as year to date, all elevations have recorded significant gains.

For example, the total auction average of Rs. 1,448.13 per kilo, the High grown average of Rs. 1,204.57 per kilo, Medium grown average of Rs. 1,152.29 per kilo and Low grown average of Rs. 1,608.57 were the highest ever.

Sri Lanka’s tea crop in June declined by six million kilos or 23% to 20.15 million kilos with all elevations recording declines year-on-year. In the first half the crop was down by 18% to 133 million kilos.

Forbes said the national Tea Sales Average (TSA) for the month of July 2022 recorded Rs. 1,448.13 ($ 4.05) was the highest ever recorded average for a calendar month surpassing the previous best of Rs. 1,333.61 ($ 4.14) achieved in April 2022.

In comparison to the July 2021 average of Rs. 591.35 ($ 2.99), the TSA shows a significant increase of Rs. 856.78 YoY whilst gaining 1.06 in dollar terms as well.

In dollar terms, the July 2022 average of $ 4.05 is an increase of $ 0.56 when compared to the June 2022 average of $ 3.49.

Forbes, giving a breakdown of highest ever elevational averages for July, said the High Grown average of Rs. 1,204.57 ($ 3.37) reflected an increase of Rs. 192.50 month on month vis-à-vis Rs. 1,012.07 ($ 2.83) of June 2022.

When compared to the July 2021 average of Rs. 555.26 ($ 2.81), the rise was a significant Rs. 649.31 YoY, whilst in dollar terms it was $ 0.56.

The highest ever Medium Grown average for a calendar month totalling Rs. 1,152.29 ($ 3.23) for July 2022 was an increase of Rs. 159.90 month on month vis-à-vis Rs. 992.39 ($ 2.78) of June 2022.

When compared to the July 2021 average of Rs. 521.70 ($ 2.64), it is also a significant increase of Rs. 630.59 Y-o-Y, whilst in dollar terms it was $ 0.59.

Low Grown’s too recorded the highest ever average of Rs. 1,608.57 ($ 4.50) in July 2022 surpassing the previous best of Rs. 1,506.71 ($ 4.22) recorded in May 2022.

It records an increase of Rs. 178.09 month on month and a significant Rs. 982.35 YoY respectively with a gain of $ 1.33 in dollar terms.

Forbes also said all elevations recorded significant gains during the period of January-July 2022 when compared to the corresponding period of 2021, both in rupee and dollar terms.

While there is an ever-so-slight uptick in economic perceptions, despite the state of the State, the big picture is that Sri Lanka’s economic prospects continue to be viewed with anxiousness by the business community, says leading business magazine LMD, in its August edition.

“The country is at a breaking point with frustrations riding high,” observes NielsenIQ’s Director – Consumer Insights Therica Miyanadeniya.

She continues: “In this environment, the Business Confidence Index (BCI) has remained static at 49 while the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) declined by three basis points to an unthinkable 12 from last month’s 15.”

However, LMD reports that: “There’s reason for cautious optimism as the most drastic assessment of the economy since the LMD-NielsenIQ BCI survey commenced in January 2003, June’s massive majority (88%) of respondents to poll who anticipated a deterioration in the next 12 months, has improved to 82%.”

A spokesman for LMD adds: “For the first time in six months, this optimism is also seen in business executives who expect an improvement – from 4% in June to 15% in early July.”

LMD notes: “This sense of cautious optimism is also reflected by businesspeople with regard to their company’s sales volumes. Whilst more than half expect business to ‘get worse’ in the 12 months ahead, those who expect things to remain stable have risen from 23% to 28%.”

As for the investment climate, the magazine notes: “There’s been little movement in the opinion of the 98% of businesspeople who have maintained that the current investment climate is ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ – this has been the case since May.”

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

Its exclusive Cover Story, which commemorates the pioneering magazine’s 28th anniversary, features the ‘voice of the young’ – the magazine has published interviews with more than 30 head prefects of schools across the island, covering their aspirations and where they see the nation heading.

Sri Lanka has granted permission to the Chinese built-Pakistani guided missile frigate PNS Taimur to make a port call at Colombo while on its way to join the Pakistan Navy in Karachi.

Built by Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai, the warship is on its maiden voyage to Pakistan while exercising en route with Cambodian and Malaysian navies.The ship is expected to be at Colombo port from August 12-15, 2022.

This permission has been given to Pakistani warship at a time where Sri Lanka confirmed it has asked China to defer the visit by the Chinese vessel Yuang Wang 5 to the Hambantota Port bowing down to Indian pressure

. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that diplomatic clearance for the Chinese vessel to make a port call at the Hambantota port from 11-17 August, 2022 for replenishment purposes was conveyed by the Ministry to the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Colombo on 12 July, 2022.

However, Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that in light of the need for further consultations, the Ministry has communicated to the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Colombo to defer the visit of the said vessel to the Hambantota port.

While Sri Lanka gave permission to the Pakistani guided missile frigate to make a port call at Colombo, it is understood that the ship was denied permission to make a port call at Chattogram port by the Sheikh Hasina government from August 7-10 after making a port call at Lumut port in Malaysia.

According to diplomatic sources, India’s close ally Bangladesh denied permission to PNS Taimur as August is a month of mourning for Sheikh Hasina as her father, Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman also fondly called Bangabandhu, was assassinated by Pak instigated and Jamait-e-Islami inspired radical Islamist forces on August 15, 1975.

The Sheikh Hasina government is close to Narendra Modi government with the Bangladesh Prime Minister clear that her father and family were done to death at the behest of Pakistan. The radical Islamist forces also made an assassination attempt on Sheikh Hasina in 2000 as Prime Minister and in 2004 as the Awami League President.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to make a trip to India in the first week of September and along with PM Modi will launch the jointly developed 1320 MegaWatt Maitree Super Thermal Power Project at Rampal in Khulna sub-division.

PNS Taimur, the second of the four Type 054 A/P frigates built in China, was commissioned on June 23, 2022. The lead ship of this class is PMNS Tughril and was commissioned on January 24, 2022.

China is also building eight Yuan class -041 diesel attack submarines for Pakistan by 2028 with the objective to militarily flank India on the high seas.