Sri Lankan garment exports may slowdown this year

10 May '12

1 min read

Apparel exports from Sri Lanka may witness a slowdown this year owing to financial crisis and political changes in the eurozone.

The South Asian country's total exports may not reach the target of US$ 11.9 billion in 2012, as more than 60 percent of Sri Lankan export earnings are from garments, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, the Governor of Central Bank, said.

The Governor added that Sri Lanka is also likely to miss its GDP growth target of 7.2 percent this year, mainly owing to slowdown in exports.

However, he said, garments being an item that people cannot avoid buying, the exports may not decline very drastically, the Governor said.

He said the exact revised estimate of exports and GDP for the current year would only be possible after analyzing the data of the first six months.

In March this year, the Central Bank had decreased its growth projection for 2012 to 7.2 percent from the earlier estimate of 8 percent.

Last year, the Sri Lankan apparel industry was able to surpass US$ 4 billion in exports despite the loss of GSP+ concessions.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India