Highlights

• Earnings from exports remained resilient during 2022 recording the highest ever exports, while expenditure on imports declined significantly in 2022, compared to 2021.
• Merchandise trade deficit recorded the lowest in 2022, since 2010.
• Foreign investments in the government securities market and Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE)
  recorded a notable net inflow during 2022 compared to net outflow in 2021.
• The recovery in earnings from tourism persisted in 2022 and marked a noticeable growth,
  although workers’ remittances moderated in 2022, compared to 2021.

Earnings from exports in 2022 surpassed US dollars 13 billion per year for the first time, recording an
increase of 4.9 per cent from the previous highest recorded in 2021.

This improvement was a result of increased earnings from industrial exports, including garments, gems, diamonds and jewellery, machinery and mechanical appliances and petroleum products. Meanwhile, total import expenditure in 2022 amounted to US dollars 18,291 million, recording a decline of 11.4 per cent, year-on-year, resulted from measures to restrict non-urgent imports and liquidity constraints prevailed in the market for the most part of 2022. As a result, the deficit in the trade account in 2022 narrowed to the lowest level since 2010 to US dollars 5,185 million, from US dollars 8,139 million recorded in 2021.