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Sri Lankas exports accounted for 17.8 per cent of GDP last year, slumping from 33 per cent in 2001, though export revenue rose by 69 per cent to $8.1 bn in absolute terms.
ToI quoted Koshy Mathai, the IMF resident representative for Sri Lanka and the Maldives as having said the exchange rate, high electricity prices and rigid labour laws could all account for the slowdown in export growth.
"We are not going to have economic success if we continue having exports declining relative to the size of economy. It is only with export growth, that the Sri Lankan economy is going to go forward," Mathai was quoted as having told an exporter forum in Colombo late on Tuesday.
The United States and Europe still account for 60 per cent of Sri Lankas exports and economic slowdowns in those regions have resulted in a 5.4 per cent fall in its exports during the first five months of the year compared to the same period last year.
Sri Lankas May exports fell 15.1 per cent year-on-year. India accounted for just 4.9 per cent of Sri Lankas total exports in 2011, led by machinery and equipment, animal fodder, spices and garments, while China accounted for only around 1 per cent.
"Failing to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the economic growth in those areas (in China and India) today would be a shame and would definitely be giving up an opportunity for Sri Lanka to go forward," Mathai said.
The International Monetary Fund, which has just fully disbursed a $2.6 bn loan to Sri Lanka, said last month that it had begun talking with authorities in Colombo about arranging a new credit called an extended fund facility.
Sri Lankas exports accounted for 17.8 per cent of GDP last year, slumping from 33 per cent in 2001, though export revenue rose by 69 per cent to $8.1 bn in absolute terms.
ToI quoted Koshy Mathai, the IMF resident representative for Sri Lanka and the Maldives as having said the exchange rate, high electricity prices and rigid labour laws could all account for the slowdown in export growth.
"We are not going to have economic success if we continue having exports declining relative to the size of economy. It is only with export growth, that the Sri Lankan economy is going to go forward," Mathai was quoted as having told an exporter forum in Colombo late on Tuesday.
The United States and Europe still account for 60 per cent of Sri Lankas exports and economic slowdowns in those regions have resulted in a 5.4 per cent fall in its exports during the first five months of the year compared to the same period last year.
Sri Lankas May exports fell 15.1 per cent year-on-year. India accounted for just 4.9 per cent of Sri Lankas total exports in 2011, led by machinery and equipment, animal fodder, spices and garments, while China accounted for only around 1 per cent.
"Failing to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the economic growth in those areas (in China and India) today would be a shame and would definitely be giving up an opportunity for Sri Lanka to go forward," Mathai said.
The International Monetary Fund, which has just fully disbursed a $2.6 bn loan to Sri Lanka, said last month that it had begun talking with authorities in Colombo about arranging a new credit called an extended fund facility.
