Sri Lanka will be looking at venturing into the African continent for exports in some of the vast markets in the region this year, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Chathuranga Abeysinghe.
He said there is a vast untapped market in the African continent which has not been explored adequately in the past.
It is now or never. So we need to work on this for which we will get all our diplomatic missions in the region to support us in this endeavour,” the Minister said.
Home to around 1.4 billion people, the African economy is diverse with a blend of traditional and modern sectors and is projected to grow significantly in the coming years.
While Sri Lanka has an overall trade surplus with African countries, it is concentrated on a few key nations such as South Africa which is a significant trading partner, although Sri Lanka has a trade deficit with it.
Having a region with enormous scope for trade diversification and exploring niche markets, Sri Lanka can benefit tremendously from exports to Africa, the Minister said.
The cumulative total exports, including both merchandise and services, were estimated at US$ 2,730.33 million for January to February 2025, marking a notable 6.65 % growth compared to the corresponding period in 2024 and in February this year alone. Merchandise and services reached US$ 1,382.53 million, marking a notable 4.62% year-on-year growth compared to February 2024.
Exports recorded a 2.58% month-on-month increase compared to January 2025.
However, exporters at a forum in Colombo last week questioned both the Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development and his Deputy about the future of the export industry, given the local and global trade challenges from US tariffs and the term of the SVAT coming to an end this year.
Both Ministers assured the exporter-community that the Government will not let down exporters at any cost and that it was mulling to replace the SVAT system with a better tax system that will support exporters much more than the present one.
The latest in US tariffs is the 25 percent import tax imposed by the Trump administration last week on cars coming to the US.
Exporters have been urging the Government to stay the SVAT system and if it seeks to amend it, to do so after consulting industry stakeholders to ensure that exporters will not be further burdened by a taxation policy.
