Sri Lanka goods exports fall 1-pct in August, dragged by apparel, tea, coconut
Sri Lanka’s merchandise exports fell 1 percent to 1,269.49 million dollars in August 2026 from a year ago, driven by a drop on in major sectors including apparel, tea and coconut exports, data from the export promotion office showed.
“Our focus must remain on strengthening the competitiveness of our existing export sectors while accelerating the development of new products, services and markets,” EDB chairman Mangala Wijesinghe said.
“Greater value addition, innovation, technology adoption, market diversification and deeper integration into global value chains will be critical to sustaining export growth and creating greater value for the national economy.”
Export earnings from apparel and textiles declined by 8.4 percent year-on-year to 464.27 million dollars in August 2026, the EDB said.
The decline was observed across major export destinations, with shipments to the United States decreasing by 13.43 percent compared to August 2025.
Tea export earnings declined by 7.76 percent year-on-year to 130.92 million dollars in August 2026.
Coconut-based products recorded a 17.28 percent year-on-year decline in export earnings to 104.27 million dollars in August 2026.
Diamond, gems and jewelry exports recorded a significant 25.05 percent year-on-year decline, reaching 30.53 million dollars in August 2026.
Total merchandise export earnings for the period January to August 2026 amounted to 12.01 billion dollars, reflecting a 4.26 percent increase compared to the same period in 2025.
Exports to the US saw a 13.43 percent decline to 263.24 million dollars in August 2026.
India continued to be the second-largest export destination, with exports increasing 32.80 percent to 107.26 million dollars in August 2026.
Exports to the UK declined 7.65 percent to 76.08 million dollars, despite Sri Lanka enjoying preferential access to the UK market under the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), which grants duty‑free entry on about 92 percent of product lines.
