The 28th Presidential Export Awards 2026, organized by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), will be held on Tuesday, 08 December 2026 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), under the patronage of His Excellency Anura Kumara Dissanayake, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
A media briefing on the event was held today at the EDB. It was attended by Mr. Mangala Wijesinghe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the EDB; Mr. Erandika Dissanayake, Director General; Mrs. Kumuduni Mudalige, Additional Director General (Development); and Mr. Roshan Jayasinghe, Director General (Finance and Administration).
Representing this year’s partner organisations were Mr. Rohana Kumara, Senior Deputy General Manager of Bank of Ceylon; Mr. Dilan Rajapaksa, Assistant General Manager of Commercial Bank; Mr. R. K. Obeysekera, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tea Board; and Prof. A. Anura Shantharachchi, Chairman and Managing Director of the Sri Lanka Export Credit Insurance Corporation, along with other officials.
The Presidential Export Awards program was launched by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board in 1981, and to date, 27 award ceremonies have been organized. Approximately 1,500 guests, including Cabinet Ministers, diplomatic officials, high level government officials, and exporters, are expected to participate in the 28th Presidential Export Awards Ceremony.
This year's awards ceremony is held to recognize Sri Lanka's best exporters for the financial year 2025/2026. A total of 117 awards will be presented under two main categories, comprising 15 overall awards and 102 product and service sectoral awards. Additionally, merit awards will be presented to qualified sectors as determined by the panel of judges, taking into consideration the applicants' performance as well as the export contribution of relevant sectors to the national economy. The selection of sectoral awards is based not only on export revenue but also on several other criteria, including export market diversification, employment generation, growth in export earnings, repatriation of export earnings to the country, environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility, and value addition.
Demonstrating the export community's enthusiasm for this prestigious award, a large number of applications were received by the Export Development Board this year. The initial evaluation of applications was conducted by the Technical Committee, and the selection of award winners was made by a distinguished panel of judges headed by a retired Honorable Judge of the Supreme Court. Ernst & Young (EY) serves as the "Knowledge Partner" for the 28th Presidential Export Awards Ceremony.
In line with the new government's policy framework, new strategies have been implemented to expand Sri Lanka's exports, and it is expected that Sri Lanka's exports will increase significantly as a result. Accordingly, the government considers the initiatives taken by exporters in areas such as market diversification, product diversification, innovation, value addition, introducing local brands to the world, sustainability of exports, and development of regional value chains as important for achieving its targets.
The Presidential Export Awards Ceremony presents winners with a trophy/plaque and certificate, and award recipients are entitled to use the Presidential Export Awards logo as a marketing tool for a period of three years.
The 28th Presidential Export Awards Ceremony is organized by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board under the supervision of Mr. Mangala Wijesinghe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Export Development Board, under the guidance of Hon. Sunil Handunneththi, Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, and on the advice of Hon. Chathuranga Abeysinghe, Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, and Mrs. Thilaka Jayasundara, Secretary to the Ministry.
Bank of Ceylon has joined hands with the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) as the Platinum Partner, while Commercial Bank serves as the Gold Partner. The Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) and the Sri Lanka Export Credit Insurance Corporation (SLECIC) serve as Silver Partners for the 28th Presidential Export Awards Ceremony, which is held to promote and encourage exports from Sri Lanka.
