https://archive.veriteresearch.org/handle/123456789/348 2026-05-13T13:26:08Z 2026-05-13T13:26:08Z Econ Team, Verité Research https://archive.veriteresearch.org/handle/456/8202 2026-04-29T21:30:52Z 2013-11-12T00:00:00Z

Export economics beyond the ‘white underwear’ = සුදු යටඇඳුමින් එහා ගිය අපනයන ආර්ථිකයක් Econ Team, Verité Research Exports from Sri Lanka are thrice cursed. They are declining as a share of global exports, as a percentage of Sri Lankan GDP, and also in absolute value. The apparel sector accounts for 52% of Sri Lanka’s total export value. But they are gradually losing steam, and nothing is else is emerging to fill the gap. This Insight examines the apparel sector, its trajectory and the implications of this trajectory for Sri Lankan exports as a whole. This Insight is originally published in the Daily Mirror (https://www.dailymirror.lk/print/features/export-economics-beyond-the-white-underwear/185-38618). Sinhala version is also included here.

2013-11-12T00:00:00Z Econ Team, Verité Research https://archive.veriteresearch.org/handle/456/8200 2026-04-29T21:32:53Z 2013-06-19T00:00:00Z

Trade agreements that don’t deliver the goods = ප්‍රතිලාභ හිඟ වූ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ වෙළඳ ගිවිසුම් Econ Team, Verité Research Sri Lanka faces two problems in relation to trade agreements. First is the quantity of trade agreements and second is the quality. This insight analyses the second problem of the low quality of Sri Lanka's trade agreements. It examines 3 main issues that have prevented Sri Lanka's existing agreements from being effective. These include: (i) the agreements reduce trade barriers only for a selected number of products and at times the reductions are too small to be of any commercial interest to traders; (ii) complex trade regulations, bureaucratic red tape and additional border taxes can often be higher trade barriers than import duties; and (iii) Sri Lanka’s trade agreements tend to be hobbled by rules of origin restrictions. Finally, the insight goes on to provide recommendations to Sri Lankan negotiators to help them avoid these same issues as they engage in trade negotiations with China for the proposed Sino-Sri Lanka free trade agreement. This Insight is originally published in the Daily Mirror (https://www.dailymirror.lk/print/features/trade-agreements-that-dont-deliver-the-goods/185-31130). Sinhala version (ප්‍රතිලාභ හිඟ වූ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ වෙළඳ ගිවිසුම්) is also included here.

2013-06-19T00:00:00Z Econ Team, Verité Research https://archive.veriteresearch.org/handle/456/8199 2026-04-29T21:30:58Z 2013-05-29T00:00:00Z

Sri Lanka is missing the world’s biggest trade party, and it’s in her backyard = ගෝලීය මහා වෙළඳ සාජ්ජය තම ගෙවත්තෙහිම සමරද්දී ශ්‍රී ලංකාව හුදෙකලා වේ Econ Team, Verité Research This Insight uses regional data to highlight how poorly Sri Lanka is doing in terms of signing Free Trade Agreements (FTA) compared to other Asian countries, despite being a regional pioneer in this area in the early 2000s. The Insight also provides reasons for the ineffectiveness of the trade agreements that Sri Lanka is already party to. This Insight is originally published in the Daily Mirror (https://www.dailymirror.lk/features/sri-lanka-missing-worlds-biggest-trade-party-and-its-in-her-backyard/185-30114). The Sinhala version (ගෝලීය මහා වෙළඳ සාජ්ජය තම ගෙවත්තෙහිම සමරද්දී ශ්‍රී ලංකාව හුදෙකලා වේ) is also included here.

2013-05-29T00:00:00Z Econ Team, Verité Research https://archive.veriteresearch.org/handle/456/8198 2026-04-29T21:30:47Z 2013-08-07T00:00:00Z

Reducing Trade Deficit: Is the government jousting with toothpicks? = වෙළඳ හිඟය අඩු කිරීම : රාජ්‍ය ප්‍රතිපත්තියෙහි මඟහැරුනු ඉසව්වන් Econ Team, Verité Research Sri Lanka has high trade deficits. And, instead of shrinking, they are increasing over the years. The current government policy, based on import substitution, will not be able to solve this serious problem. This Insight posits two reasons for the ineffectiveness of the current import substitution strategy. First, a key area that the import substitution strategy focuses on is food. However, the contribution of food to the import bill and growth in imports is low. Instead, it is petroleum that is the biggest driver of import growth, and progress on reducing the petroleum import bill has been inadequate. Second, Sri Lanka needs economic growth but its production supply chains (intermediate goods) are import dependent and without the large production scales that would be created by export orientation, it is not very profitable to invest in the supply chain inputs. Hence, focusing on an import substitution strategy without working to increase exports will mean that instead of saving foreign exchange, imports will merely get diverted from final goods to the intermediate goods which are inputs into production activities. This Insight is originally published in the Daily Mirror on 7 August 2013. The Sinhala version (වෙළඳ හිඟය අඩු කිරීම : රාජ්‍ය ප්‍රතිපත්තියෙහි මඟහැරුනු ඉසව්වන්) is published in the Mawbima on 14 October 2013.

2013-08-07T00:00:00Z