Sri Lanka’s garment exports may fall by at least 30 per cent in the next four months. Some of the orders received by Sri Lanka have been transferred to countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Ethiopia due to the political and economic instability prevailing in the country.

Inflation in many other countries, including the United States, has also led to the reduction of orders.The demand for Sri Lankan garments has also fallen due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, disruption of Russian gas supply, rising fuel prices and inflation in European countries.

Sri Lanka’s main garment export destinations are the United States of America, the European Union and England.

Sri Lanka is attempting to finalise free trade agreements with countries like China, India, Japan and Australia. These are expected to help boost exports and strengthen the industry’s resilience.August 2022 saw a 20 per cent increase in export turnover generated by the apparel sector but at present Sri Lanka is not competing on a level playing field. Its main competitor countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam and some African nations have duty concessions in global markets, which it does not have.Sri Lanka’s only concessions are for the UK and the EU markets, and those come coupled with a variety of strict conditions pertaining to the origin of raw materials.