External Trade – 2nd Quarter 2026
Highlights
Total Exports
Total exports (including ship's stores and bunkers) for the second quarter of 2026, amounted to Rs 28,887 million, showing an increase of 4.3% compared to Rs 27,706 million in the corresponding quarter of 2025. This is mainly explained by increases in “Crude materials, inedible, except fuels" (+32.7%), “Ships' stores & bunkers" (+22.0%) and “Chemicals and related products, n.e.s." (+6.2%), partly offset by decreases in “Miscellaneous manufactured articles" (-10.1%), “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" (-6.8%) and “Food and live animals" (-1.3%).
For the first semester of 2026, total exports increased by 0.2%, compared to the corresponding period of 2025.
Total Imports
Total imports for second quarter of 2026 amounted to Rs 96,403 million, showing an increase of 18.6% compared to Rs 81,295 million in the corresponding quarter of 2025. This is mainly due to increases in “Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials" (+71.5%), “Chemicals and related products" (+18.9%), “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" (+5.3%) and “Machinery and transport equipment" (+2.0%), partly offset by decreases in “Miscellaneous manufactured articles" (-9.1%) and “Food and live animals" (-3.3%).
For the first semester of 2026, total imports increased by 8.2%, compared to the corresponding period of 2025.
Balance of trade
The resulting trade deficit for the second quarter of 2026 worked out to Rs 67,516 million, 48.1% higher than the deficit of Rs 45,584 million of the previous quarter and 26.0% higher than the deficit of Rs 53,589 million of the corresponding quarter of 2025.
For first semester of 2026, the trade deficit worked out to around Rs 113,100 million, 12.5% higher than the deficit of Rs 100,552 million in the first semester of 2025.
Forecast for year 2026
Based on trends and information from various sources, the forecast of total exports for 2026 is maintained at the previous forecast figures, that is, around Rs 110 billion, representing an increase of 1.9% than the total exports of around Rs 108 billion in 2025. The total imports will be around Rs 325 billion, 3.2% higher than the total imports of around Rs 315 billion in 2025.
The trade deficit for 2026 is forecasted at around Rs 215 billion, 3.4% higher as compared to around Rs 208 billion in 2025.
26 August 2026
