Sri Lanka (LKA) Exports, Imports, and Trade Partners

About

Overview: In 2018 Sri Lanka was the number 64 economy in the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 84 in total exports, the number 80 in total imports, the number 122 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 97 most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI)

Exports: The top exports of Sri Lanka are Tea ($858M), Other Women's Undergarments ($635M), Knit Women's Undergarments ($556M), Knit Women's Suits ($493M), and Non-Knit Women's Suits ($476M), exporting mostly to United States ($2.69B), India ($865M), Germany ($823M), United Kingdom ($809M), and Italy ($495M).

In 2018, Sri Lanka was the world's biggest exporter of Used Rubber Tires ($361M) and Cinnamon ($184M)

Imports: The top imports of Sri Lanka are Refined Petroleum ($2.3B), Cars ($1.2B), Light Rubberized Knitted Fabric ($760M), Broadcasting Equipment ($367M), and Packaged Medicaments ($307M), importing mostly from India ($4.25B), China ($4.23B), Singapore ($1.73B), Japan ($1.17B), and Malaysia ($708M).

Location: Sri Lanka borders India and Maldives by sea.

Product Trade

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Yearly Exports

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Value

Depth

Year

Top Export (2018): Tea, $858M

Top Destination (2018): United States, $2.69B

In 2018, Sri Lanka exported a total of $11.1B, making it the number 84 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Sri Lanka have changed by $150M from $11B in 2013 to $11.1B in 2018.

The most recent exports are led by Tea ($858M), Other Women's Undergarments ($635M), Knit Women's Undergarments ($556M), Knit Women's Suits ($493M), and Non-Knit Women's Suits ($476M). The most common destination for the exports of Sri Lanka are United States ($2.69B), India ($865M), Germany ($823M), United Kingdom ($809M), and Italy ($495M).

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Yearly Imports

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Value

Depth

Year

Top Import (2018): Refined Petroleum, $2.3B

Top Origin (2018): India, $4.25B

In 2018 Sri Lanka imported $18.7B, making it the number 80 trade destination in the world. During the last five reported years the imports of Sri Lanka changed by -$142M from $18.9B in 2013 to $18.7B in 2018.

The most recent imports of Sri Lanka are led by Refined Petroleum ($2.3B), Cars ($1.2B), Light Rubberized Knitted Fabric ($760M), Broadcasting Equipment ($367M), and Packaged Medicaments ($307M). The most common import partners for Sri Lanka are India ($4.25B), China ($4.23B), Singapore ($1.73B), Japan ($1.17B), and Malaysia ($708M).

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Market Growth

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Flow

Period

Fastest Growing Export Markets (2017 - 2018)

India, $153M (+ 21.4%)
Germany, $101M (+ 14%)
Maldives, $48.9M (+ 43.3%)

Fastest Growing Import Markets (2017 - 2018)

China, $556M (+ 15.1%)
Japan, $154M (+ 15.1%)
United Kingdom, $114M (+ 41.6%)

Service Trade

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Service Trade

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Export YearImport Year

Sri Lanka Exports Services (2018): $8.37B

Sri Lanka Imports Services (2018): $4.61B

In 2018, Sri Lanka exported $8.37B worth of services. The top services exported by Sri Lanka in 2018 were Personal travel ($4.38B), Transportation ($2.49B), Computer and information services ($995M), Financial services ($242M), and Insurance services ($130M).

The top services imported by Sri Lanka in 2018 were Transportation ($1.74B), Personal travel ($1.66B), Computer and information services ($484M), Financial services ($447M), and Insurance services ($97.4M).

Forecasts

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Trade Forecasts

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This section shows forecasts for total product exports and imports for Sri Lanka. The forecast is based in a long short-term memory model or LSTM constructed using yearly trade data.

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Tariffs

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Tariffs by Product

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Product Filter

The top product import tariffs by their MFN Ad Valorem value for Sri Lanka are Cigars, cheroots, cigarettes, with tobacco substitute (250%) and Homogenized or reconstituted tobacco (250%).

Click any of the products in the bar chart to see the specific Ad Valorem Duty Rates by partner country.

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*The tariffs applied to imports for Sri Lanka are:
136: Most Favoured Nation duty rate treatement
156: Preferential tariff for (SAARC) South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries
168: Preferential tariff for Bangladesh
239: Preferential tariff for India
284: Preferential tariff for Pakistan
299: Preferential tariff for Singapore
336: Preferential tariff under (GSTP) Global System of Trade Preferences among Developing Countries
343: Preferential trade agreement (APTA) Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement or (Previously named:Bangkok Agreement)
344: Preferential trade agreement (APTA) LDCs countries
366: South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Preferential Trading Arragement (SAPTA)
367: South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Preferential Trading Arragement (SAPTA) for The least developed nations in South Asia

Economic Complexity

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Economic Complexity Ranking

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Scale

Compare with

During the last 20 years Sri Lanka's⁩ ⁨economy has become relatively less complex, moving from the ⁩⁨88th to the 97th⁩ position in the ECI rank.

These economic complexity rankings use 6 digit exports classified according to the HS96 classification. We consider only countries with population of at least 1 million and exports of at least $1 billion, and products with world trade over $500 million. To explore different rankings and vary these parameters visit the custom rankings section.

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Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

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Sri Lanka has a high level of specialization in Cinnamon (444), Coconut and Other Vegetable Fibers (253), Used Rubber Tires (219), Tea (184), and Other Vegetable Products (144). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Sri Lanka observed and expected exports in each product.

Most Complex Products by PCI

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The highest complexity exports of Sri Lanka according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Equipment for soldering, brazing or welding (1.2), Weighing machinery except balances sensitivity > 50 mg (1.16), Machinery for dish washing, bottle washing, filling (1.12), Transfers (decalcomanias) (1), and Parts for use with lifting, moving machinery (0.99). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

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The top export opportunities for Sri Lanka according to the relatedness index, are Cotton Waste (0.27), Fake Hair (0.26), Insect Resins (0.25), Processed Fish (0.25), and House Linens (0.25). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Sri Lanka is not specialized in.

Product Space

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YearRCA Filter

The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products it is currently specialized in.

Diversification Frontier

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Filter

Depth

The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk and the strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is a predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower emissions.

About

Product Trade

Yearly Exports

Yearly Imports

Market Growth

Service Trade

Service Trade

Forecasts

Trade Forecasts

Tariffs

Tariffs by Product

Economic Complexity

Economic Complexity Ranking

Most Specialized Products by RCA Index

Most Complex Products by PCI

Export Opportunities by Relatedness

Product Space

Diversification Frontier

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