Total exports (inclusive of ship’s stores & bunkers) were valued at Rs 25,176 million, showing a decrease of 8.2%, compared to the corresponding quarter of 2022. For the first semester of 2023, total exports increased by 2.1 %, compared to the corresponding period of 2022.
This is mainly explained by decreases in exports of “Ships’ stores & bunkers » (-34.3%), “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material » (-15.2%) and “Miscellaneous manufactured articles » (-5.9%), partly offset by increases in the exports of “Chemicals and related products » (+15.8%), “Food and live animals » (+13.8%) and “Machinery and transport equipment » (+1.9%). Compared to previous quarter, the total exports for second quarter of 2023 decreased by 0.8%.
Total imports, for the second quarter of 2023, amounted to Rs 72,645 million showing a decrease of 3.8%, compared to the corresponding quarter of 2022. This is mainly due to decreases in imports of “Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials » (-37.2%), “Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material » (-16.3%), “Chemicals and related products » (-2.9%), partly offset by increases in the imports of “Beverages and tobacco » (+116.4%), “Machinery and transport equipment » (+34.0%), “Food and live animals » (+10.9%) and “Miscellaneous manufactured articles » (+4.9%). Compared to previous quarter, the total imports for the second quarter of 2023 increased by 10.7%.
For the first semester of 2023, total imports increased by 0.6%, compared to the corresponding period of 2022.
The trade deficit for the second quarter of 2023 worked out to Rs 47,469 million, 17.9% higher than the deficit of Rs 40,263 million of the previous quarter and 1.3% lower than the deficit of Rs 48,106 million of the corresponding quarter of 2022.
For the first semester of 2023, the trade deficit worked out to around Rs 87,732 million, 0.2% lower than the deficit of Rs 87,927 million in the first semester of 2022.
Based on trends and information from various sources, the forecast for year 2023 for total exports has been maintained at the previous forecast figures while that for total imports has been revised downwards.
Total exports for 2023 will be around Rs 110 billion, 3.8% higher than the total exports of around Rs 106 billion in 2022. Total imports for 2023 including one-off items such as machinery for metro terminals, will be around Rs 315 billion, 7.9% higher than the total imports of around Rs 292 billion in 2022. The trade deficit for 2023 is forecasted at around Rs 205 billion, 9.6% higher as compared to around Rs 187 billion in 2022.
