SL’s import bill declines by 11.4% in 2022

Sri Lanka’s total import expenditure for 2022 was about 18.3 billion U.S. dollars, a decline of 11.4 percent compared to 2021, according to the latest data from the country’s central bank. This is the result of restricting non-urgent imports and liquidity constraints that prevailed in the market for the most part of 2022, the central bank said. It also said the earnings from exports in 2022 surpassed 13 billion dollars per year for the first time, an increase of 4.9 percent from 2021. The deficit in the trade account narrowed to the lowest level since 2010 to about 5.2 billion dollars, compared with over 8 billion dollars in 2021. Workers’ remittances in 2022 amounted to about 3.8 billion dollars, in comparison to about 5.5 billion dollars in 2021, recording a decline of 31 percent, though a notable recovery was witnessed during the latter part of the year, according to the central bank. It said earnings from tourism are estimated at over 1.1 billion dollars in 2022, compared to 507 million dollars in 2021.