External trade – 2nd Quarter 2021Highlights
Total Exports
Total exports, including ship's stores & bunkers, for the second quarter of 2021, amounted to Rs 19,447 million, showing an increase of 58.7%, compared to the corresponding quarter of 2020. This is mainly explained by increases in exports of “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" (+167.7%), “Miscellaneous manufactured articles" (+107.9%), “Machinery and transport equipment" (+102.4%) “Crude materials, inedible, except fuels" (+84.9%), “Food and live animals" (+26.3%), “Ships' stores & bunkers" (+20.5%) and “Chemicals and related products" (+14.6%).
Total exports, for the second quarter of 2021 increased by 12.1%, compared to the previous quarter. For the first semester of 2021, total exports were higher by 17.9%, compared to the first semester of 2020.
Total Imports
Total imports, for the second quarter of 2021, amounted to Rs 47,797 million showing an increase of 39.7%, compared to the corresponding quarter of 2020. This is mainly due to increases in imports of “Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials" (+95.6%), “Chemicals and related products" (+95.2%), “Miscellaneous manufactured articles" (+73.3%), “Crude materials, inedible, except fuels" (+42.0%), “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" (+40.3%), “Machinery and transport equipment" (+26.8%), “Animal & vegetable oils and fats" (+12.5%) and “Beverages and tobacco" (+5.7%), partly offset by a decrease in the imports of “Food and live animals" (-1.3%).
Total imports, for the second quarter of 2021 increased by 7.7%, compared to the previous quarter. For the first semester of 2021, total imports were higher by 17.9%, compared to first semester of 2020.
Balance of trade
The trade deficit for the second quarter of 2021 worked out to Rs 28,350 million, 29.1% higher than the deficit of Rs 21,954 million of the corresponding quarter of 2020 and 4.9% higher than the deficit of Rs 27,037 million of the previous quarter.
The trade deficit for first semester of 2021 works out to around Rs 55,387 million, 17.9% higher than the deficit of Rs 46,960 million for the first semester of 2020.
Forecast for year 2021
Based on trends and information from various sources, the forecast of total exports for 2021 will be around Rs 78,000 million, 11.1% higher than the total exports of around Rs 70,200 million in 2020. Total imports for 2021, including one-off items such as machinery for metro terminals, cranes and tugs, will be around Rs 186,000 million, 12.3% higher than the total imports of around Rs 165,700 million in 2020.
The trade deficit for 2021 is forecasted at around Rs 108,000 million, 13.1% higher as compared to around Rs 95,500 million in 2020.
