Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa

The Export Development Board (EDB) and the Foreign Ministry are working closely together to increase the country’s export revenue and mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the export industry. Sri Lanka’s export income which stood at US$ 277 Mn in April 2020 has increased to US$ 1,090 Mn in July 2020 and is projected to grow in the coming months. There are several joint initiatives taken by the EDB and the Foreign Ministry to enhance exports. This includes identifying new market opportunities, creating awareness by disseminating market alerts, addressing supply chain issues, enhancing capacity building through webinars, and creating business linkages to support existing exporters to sustain their exports.

During the COVID-19 lockdown which began in late March, Sri Lanka’s Missions and Posts overseas continued to share updates and developments relevant to the markets they covered. These updates included available market opportunities as well as changes to trade and policy regulations during the pandemic which enabled Sri Lanka’s exporters to adapt accordingly. The functioning of this mechanism also enabled Sri Lanka’s exporters to share their supply capability information with buyers swiftly, via the Foreign Ministry and its network of overseas Missions. The export opportunities that were identified and made use of in this manner related in particular to face masks, protective gowns, PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), rubber gloves, hand sanitizers, tea and food products. EDB being the facilitator for Sri Lankan exporters made efficient arrangements to circulate market updates rapidly among exporters via email and its website, and made use of IT based solutions to connect exporters and importers by organizing a series of webinars in collaboration with foreign trade chambers with the assistance of Sri Lanka’s Missions overseas.

Read more: EDB AND FOREIGN MINISTRY ACCELERATE EFFORTS TO BOOST EXPORTS