COLOMBO, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's merchandise exports earned 12.48 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, surpassing the country's export revenue target of 12.14 billion dollars, local media citing provisional data from the Export Development Board (EDB) reported here Saturday.
Minister of Trade Bandula Gunawardena was quoted by the Daily FT as saying that Sri Lanka's merchandise export revenue grew 24.17 percent to 12.48 billion dollars between January and December 2021.
"Hard work and commitment of industrialists along with the government's decision of speedy vaccination of the country's workforce started yielding results," Gunawardena said in a statement.
Export growth in 2021 was buttressed by a 22.93 percent growth in exports of apparel and textiles, a 25.81 percent growth in export of coconut and coconut based products, and a 33.87 percent growth in the export of rubber and rubber finished products.
The top destinations for Sri Lankan exports in 2021 include the United States, Britain, India, Germany and Italy. ■