Sri Lanka’s textiles and garments exports exceeded $5 bn in 2017, up 3.0 per cent from 2016 with earnings in the month of December alone up 19 per cent after the resumption of duty free shipments to the European Union earlier that year. Textiles and garments exports rose 19.4 per cent to $470 mn in December 2017 from a year ago, according to Central Bank Data.
“Recording the highest value for the year, earnings from textiles and garment exports continued to increase significantly in December 2017 with increased exports to the European Union (EU) following the restoration of the GSP+ facility in May 2017,” a statement said.
Earnings from garment exports to the EU increased by 27.2 per cent year-on-year, while garment exports to the USA and other non-traditional markets increased by 18.0 per cent and 14.1 per cent during December 2017.
Earnings from merchandise exports surpassed the one US dollar mark in December 2017 for the fifth time during the year and recorded a double-digit growth for the sixth consecutive month compared to 2016, the statement said. The increased performance in industrial exports supported by textiles and garments largely contributed to this growth, it said.
