Sri Lanka’s January trade deficit widens

COLOMBO (News1st): Sri Lanka’s trade deficit widened in January, with merchandise exports showing a drop when compared to last year. The trade deficit had widened to USD 730 million mainly due to a decline in exports and the drop in revenue generated by the tourism industry, the Central Bank said in a statement. The report showed that, in January, only USD 1005 million had been earned through exports, while costs incurred for imports stood at USD 1735 million. Workers' remittances which was recorded at USD 581 million this year, showed an increase of 6.5 percent when compared to USD 545 received in January last year. The country’s tourism industry which has been struck by a double whammy - by last year’s terrorist attacks and the outbreak of COVID - 19, generated only USD 431 million in revenue. According to the report, the tourism industry drew in USD 460 million in January last year. The report added that the textile and garment industry generated the highest revenue with figures standing at USD 474 million. However, this industry also did not witness a positive growth, as the revenue earned through exports in January last year was USD 475.9 million. Meanwhile, the revenue worth USD 82.8 million generated by exporting petroleum products displayed a remarkable increase of 120.9 percent when compared to January last year.