External Trade – 4th Quarter & Year 2021
​Highl​ights


Fourth quarter 2021

Exports

1.     Total exports for the fourth quarter of 2021 amounted to Rs 23,031 million, an increase of 18.3% compared to the corresponding quarter of 2020. This is mostly explained by increases in exports of “Crude materials, inedible, except fuels" (+141.6%), “Ship's stores and bunkers" (+83.9%), “Chemicals and related products, n.e.s." (+21.1%), “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" (+19.3%), “Miscellaneous manufactured articles" (+11.2%) and “Food and live animals" (+3.1%),  partly offset by a decrease in the exports of “Machinery and transport equipment" (-8.5%).

2.     Compared to the previous quarter, total export proceeds for the fourth quarter 2021 increased by 3.4%.

 

Imports

3.     Total imports for the fourth quarter of 2021 amounted to Rs 67,677 million, showing an increase of 43.0% compared to the corresponding quarter of 2020. This rise is due to increases in imports of “Mineral fuels, lubricants, & related products" (+119.4%), “Chemicals and related products" (+54.3%), “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" (+47.3%), “Machinery & transport equipment" (+23.6%), “Miscellaneous manufactured articles" (+22.2%) and “Food and live animals" (+18.6%).

4.     Compared to the previous quarter, total imports for the fourth quarter of 2021 increased by 23.4%.


Balance of trade

5.     The trade deficit for the fourth quarter of 2021 works out to Rs 44,646 million, around 60.4% higher than the deficit of Rs 27,838 million for the corresponding quarter of 2020. Compared to Rs 32,567 million in the previous quarter, the deficit was higher by 37.1%.


Year 2021

Exports

6.     Total export proceeds for the year 2021 were valued at Rs 82,105 million, representing an increase of 16.9% over the 2020 figure of Rs 70,223 million. This is mostly explained by increases in “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" (+27.5%) “Miscellaneous manufactured articles" (+24.0%) and “Food and live animals" (+1.9%).


Imports

7.     Total imports, for the year 2021 amounted to Rs 215,186 million, representing an increase of 29.8%, compared to Rs 165,722 million in 2020. This is mostly explained by increases in “Mineral fuels, lubricants & related products" (+50.7%), “Chemicals and related products, n.e.s" (+49.0%), “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" (+40.5%), “Miscellaneous manufactured articles" (+35.0%), “Machinery & transport equipment" (+15.0%) and “Food and live animals" (+11.4%).

 
Balance of trade

8.     The trade deficit for the year 2021 worked out to Rs 133,081 million, around 39.4% higher than the deficit of Rs 95,499 million for the year 2020.

 

Forecast for year 2022

​9.     Based on trends and information from various sources, the forecast of total exports for year 2022 will be around Rs 90,000 million and total imports including one - off items such as helicopter and machinery for metro terminals will be around Rs 250,000 million. The trade deficit for year 2022 will be around Rs 160,000 million, compared to Rs 133,081 million in 2021.

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25 February 2022