Import from Sri Lanka increase by 17 percent over three years

Minister of Economic Development Ahmed Mohamed has said that the value of goods imported to Maldives from Sri Lanka increased by 17 percent over the past three years.

Speaking to major businessmen in Sri Lanka, Ahmed Mohamed said today that goods worth $43 million were imported to Maldives from Sri Lanka in the first six months of 2012, and that this amount is likely to increase to about $90 million by the end of the year.

“Imports from Sri Lanka range from basic commodities to expensive items. Goods worth $63 million were imported in 2010, and goods worth $24 million were imported in 2011 from Sri Lanka,” he said.

Ahmed Mohamed said that the main commodities imported from Sri Lanka are eggs, medicine, milk, fruits and vegetables; while the commodities mainly exported from Maldives to Sri Lanka are fish and agricultural products.

By the end of the year, goods worth $40 million would have been exported from Maldives to Sri Lanka.

“These are indications of good trade relations between the two countries,” he said.

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Badiuddin noted at the meeting that trade relations between the two countries are improving, and said that the conditions in Maldives are suitable for Sri Lankan investors, but stressed the importance of revising laws and regulations such that they appeal even more to foreign investors.

Maldives’ High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Hussain Shihab also said that trade relations between the two countries are improving, and expressed hope to further strengthen business ties between the two countries.