The Sri Lankan economy grew at 7.3 % in 2013 and is expected to grow at 7.8 % in 2014. In so far as the performance of exports was concerned, the Annual Report of the Central Bank indicated that the export performance of Sri Lanka, recovered in 2013 and export earnings grew by 6.4 % to USD 10.3 billion in contrast to a decline of 7.4 % in 2012. The export performance continues to be strong in the first half of 2014 with the total exports of Sri Lanka amounting to approximately USD 5.4 billion, an increase of 22.1 % as compared to the same period last year, Sinha said.
He said bilaterally the cornerstone of economic and commercial ties was the India - Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA)
It was in view of the synergy and complementarities that exists between the two countries, that India and Sri Lanka took the initiative of signing the first bilateral trade agreement with each other. The benefits that have accrued from this 14 year old agreement were well documented.
The ISLFTA led to the emergence of a genuinely vibrant economic relationship and resulted in a quantum Within two years of the ISLFTA coming into force, Sinha added,“we saw a doubling of our trade turnover. In another three years, that is by 2005, we doubled the trade turnover again. Between 2000 and 2008, the turnover grew five times. The trade reached its highest level to date in 2011 when it amounted to nearly USD 5 billion. The total trade in 2013 was USD 3.76 billion.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Anura Siriwardena, Secretary to the Ministry of Industry & Commerce stated that, “I am happy to see that these favourable conditions in our country have yielded positive results already, which is signified by an impressive year - on - year export growth of 16.08% from January to June this year, when compared to the exports of the first six months in 2013. This positive growth trend could be observed in almost all product sectors.
Thus, from now on, the Exporters Association of Sri Lanka has even a bigger role to play, in reaching the target of doubling the export value to USD 20 bn and to record a trade surplus by 2020. The blue print of the strategy to achieve these targets is currently being drawn up by the Export Development Board under the guidance of our Ministry.
"In this endeavour, it is vital that we keep in mind that the key words for today's export sector have become 'value added' and 'knowledge based'. We have now realized that R & D is the ultimate key to a knowledge based economy, where the productivity and value addition, as well as innovation and the manufacturing capabilities of the people, are high and growing." Said Mr. Siriwardena.