Sri Lanka foreign missions are to be actively involved in export promotion campaigns to increase exports of made in Sri Lanka products enhancing revenue and mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 on the industry, official sources said.
The Export Development Board (EDB) in collaboration with the Foreign Ministry are now taking measures to identify new market opportunities, and creating awareness by disseminating market alerts.
The new initiative will be addressing supply chain issues. enhancing capacity building through webinars, and creating business linkages to support existing exporters to sustain their exports.
Sri Lanka’s export income which stood at US$ 277 Mn in April 2020 has increased to US$ 1,090 Mn in July 2020 and is projected to grow in the coming months.
During the COVID-19 lockdown which began in late March, Sri Lanka’s Missions and Posts overseas continued to share updates and developments relevant to the markets they covered.
These updates included available market opportunities as well as changes to trade and policy regulations during the pandemic which enabled Sri Lanka’s exporters to adapt accordingly.
The functioning of this mechanism also enabled Sri Lanka’s exporters to share their supply capability information with buyers swiftly, via the Foreign Ministry and its network of overseas Missions.
The export opportunities that were identified and made use of in this manner related in particular to face masks, protective gowns, PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), rubber gloves, hand sanitizers, tea and food products.
(LIN)