External trade – 1st Quarter 2025
Highlights
Total Exports
Total exports (including ship's stores and bunkers) for the first quarter of 2025, amounted to Rs 26,658 million, showing an increase of 11.9% compared to Rs 23,831 million in the corresponding quarter of 2024. This is mainly explained by increases in exports of “Machinery and transport equipment" (+109.1%), “Ship's Stores and Bunkers" (+35.7%), “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" (+14.5%) and “Miscellaneous manufactured articles" (+4.6%), partly offset by decreases in the exports of “Food and live animals" (-7.5%) and “Chemicals and related products, n.e.s.." (-3.4%).
Total exports for the first quarter of 2025 decreased by 1.2% compared to the previous quarter.
Total Imports
Total imports for the first quarter of 2025 amounted to Rs 73,970 million, showing an increase of 6.0% compared to Rs 69,799 million in the corresponding quarter of 2024. This is mainly due to increases in imports of “Machinery & transport equipment" (+6.7%), “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" (+6.3%), “Chemicals and related products n.e.s." (+5.5%), “Food and live animals" (+5.2%), “Mineral fuels, lubricants & related products" (+3.9%) and “Miscellaneous manufactured articles" (+3.1%).
Total imports for the first quarter of 2025 decreased by 14.2% compared to the previous quarter.
Balance of trade
The resulting trade deficit for the first quarter of 2025 worked out to Rs 47,312 million, 20.1% lower than the deficit of Rs 59,207 million of the previous quarter and 2.9% higher than the deficit of Rs 45,968 million of the corresponding quarter of 2024.
Forecast for year 2025
Based on trends and information from various sources, the forecast of total exports for 2025 is maintained at the same level as year 2024, that is, Rs 110 billion. The total imports for 2025 will be around Rs 320 billion, 0.6% higher than the total imports of around Rs 318 billion in 2024.
The trade deficit for 2025 is forecasted at around Rs 210 billion, 1.0% higher as compared to around Rs 208 billion in 2024.
