The Export Development Board (EDB) has planned to increase the number of exporters and export products to diversify the export basket this year, a top official of the apex state body responsible for promoting and developing exports said.
The EDB has been insisting on diversification of export products to meet the needs of niche markets and increase income for sometime but the wheels of progress has been moving at a rather sluggish pace.
“We want to see more exporters and new products being shipped out of the country to new markets this year,” said EDB Chairman Mangala Wijesinghe.
However, the export sector for years or probably since the opening of the economy in the late 1970s has been reliant on a basket of a few products such as tea, rubber, coconut and precious stones.
Many heads of the apex body for export promotion came up with various strategies to widen the product portfolio but failed due to the inward-looking policies of the Government, high energy costs, skilled labour shortage and scaling back on infrastructure spending.
However, the EDB aims at an export income of USD 18 billion in 2025 from merchandise exports of around USD 14 billion and USD 4 billion from service exports.
The EDB expects an export income of USD 8.5 billion from apparels this year, USD 650 million from gem and jewellery, USD 450 million from food and beverages, USD 200 million from boat building and USD 550 million from the electrical and electronic sectors.
The EDB acknowledges that there are many issues impeding its growth, which needs to be urgently addressed.
“We hope to discuss these issues with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake next week and sort them out soon, so that the contribution from these sectors to the export income will rise,” the EDB Chairman said.
The export income last year, according to the EDB, was USD 16.2 billion compared to USD 15 billion in 2023.
The EDB has also set an ambitious target surpassing USD 25 billion in merchandise exports by 2030.
The EDB will hold its 26th Presidential Export Awards ceremony at the BMICH on February 7 under the patronage of President Dissanayake.
