Sri Lanka hopes to achieve this year's target of $5 billion export revenue. The country is keen on signing a Free Trade Agreement with China and a Memorandum of Understanding with Japan. The loss of GSP Plus status was a big blow to the country’s economic development as EU countries account for 60 per cent of the country’s exports. America and Europe are the main buyers for Sri Lanka.
Buyers placing orders have the choice of selecting fabric and accessories from any part of the world to be brought to Sri Lanka for conversion into finished apparels. There is an advantage in sourcing from Sri Lanka due to its central location, which provides the shortest shipping times to Europe. The European Union in 2010 suspended trade concessions under the Generalised System of Preferences Plus for Sri Lanka because of violations of human rights agreements.
As of now, Lanka’s exporters have lost their duty free access to EU and their shipments are charged an import duty of about 9.6 per cent. But the country hopes to get the status revived possibly through some concessions like guarantees of future compliance.
