Continuing with the positive trend since the beginning of this year, exports of textiles and garments from Sri Lanka increased by 4.5 per cent year-on-year in the first six months of this year. During January-June 2016, Sri Lanka’s export earnings from textiles and garments stood at $2.514 billion, compared to $2.405 billion earned in the corresponding period of last year, according to the data released by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. Export growth in June mainly came from the US and non-traditional markets. “Earnings from textiles and garments exports, which account for around 48 per cent of total export earnings, grew by 1.4 per cent year-on-year to $430 million in June 2016, as a result of higher garment exports to US and non-traditional markets such as Canada, China and UAE,” the Central Bank said. Textiles and apparel accounted for about 63.15 per cent of all industrial exports and about 49.23 per cent of all exports made by the South Asian nation during the six-month period. In 2015, the island nation’s export earnings from textiles and garments declined by 2.2 per cent year-on-year to $4.820 billion, compared to $4.929 billion in 2014.
