Sri Lanka’s Imports Were 4% Higher in 2021 When Compared to 2019

Abstract

Sri Lanka’s Imports have grown by 4%, (USD 700 Million) from 2019 to 2021. One of the main contributors for this growth is the increase in the Medical and Pharmaceuticals imports by 60% which amounts to USD 330 Million. However, the imports on Personal Vehicles have declined significantly by 98% (USD 803 Million) during this period. The above growth looks at the change in the value of imports which could have resulted with increase in the unit price of imports or by an increase in the volume of imports. Hence, by observing the movement in the Trade volume index for 2021 and 2019, we can see that the average of the monthly volumes in 2019 (164) has been higher than in 2021 (159). This shows that compared to 2019, Sri Lanka has imported less in 2021 and the increase in imports was mainly due to the increase in import prices which is shown by the increase in the average of the monthly unit values from 91 in 2019 to 95 in 2021.