The growth in exports in March outstripped the increase in the expenditure for merchandise imports for the same month, as the exports of textiles and garments showed strength once again, after losing a bit of steam in the recent months.
The data released by the Central Bank showed that Sri Lanka earned US $ 1,139 million in March, the highest since August 2022.
The March exports were up both 9.8 percent and 7.5 percent from a year ago and a month ago levels, respectively, reflecting that Sri Lanka’s exports are ploughing ahead, despite the challenges from the continued rupee strength and somewhat softish growth conditions in the West.
The rupee has strengthened by over 9.0 percent thus far this year, on top of a little over 12 percent appreciation last year against the dollar.