External Merchandise Trade Second quarter 2019

Total exports for the second quarter of 2019 amounted to Rs 20,465 million, 1.1% higher compared to the corresponding quarter of 2018 and 5.7% higher compared to previous quarter.

Total imports for the second quarter of 2019 amounted to Rs 48,527 million, showing an increase of 1.0%, compared to the corresponding quarter of 2018 and an increase of 4.9% compared to previous quarter.

The trade deficit for the second quarter of 2019 works out to Rs 28,062 million, around 1.0% higher than the deficit of Rs 27,789 million for the corresponding quarter of 2018. Compared to the previous quarter, the deficit was higher by 4.2%.

Forecast 2019
Based on recent past trends and information from various sources, the forecast of total exports for 2019 is maintained at around Rs 83,000 million and the forecasted total imports will be around Rs 207,800 million lower than the forecast figure of Rs 211,700, made in May 2019. To note that the new forecast includes one – off items such as tugs, linear accelerator and metro trains but excludes aircraft and wind turbines. The trade deficit for 2019 is forecasted to be around Rs 124,800 million, compared to Rs 112,068 million in 2018.