Sri Lanka’s exports grew 4.4 percent in September 2018 to 1,055 million US dollars from a year ago, exceeding a billion dollars for the fourth straight month, but the trade gap widened as import spending rose faster.
The central bank said spending on merchandise imports increased by 6.1percent to 1,768 million dollars in September 2018 from a year ago mainly due to high expenditure incurred on fuel and personal vehicle imports.
Earnings from industrial exports, which account for 77 percent of the total export earnings, grew by 9.4 percent during September 2018 to 814 million dollars owing to high demand for garments from the USA and Canada, India and Japan although exports to Europe fell.
Earnings from agricultural exports fell by 10.8 percent to 234 million dollars, reflecting poor performance of tea and almost all other categories except seafood, a statement said.
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