Speaking on behalf of the Exporters Association of Sri Lanka (EASL), Harin de Silva (Chairman EASL) welcomesthe 2018 Budget under Vision 2025 and its proposals to revamp Sri Lanka’s trade policies to enable an export-driven economy.
Apart from being more realistic, the proposals are expected to achieve a 5% growth rate while maintaining inflation at 6% and reducing the budget deficit to 4.5% of GDP.
The new strategic brand of “Enterprise Sri Lanka” looks at doubling exports to US$20 billion by 2020 and improve Sri Lanka’s rating to the 70th position in the global “Ease of Doing Business” ranking.
The active promotion of the ‘hub’ concept along with further liberalization and de-regulation will go a long way in assisting Sri Lanka enable Sri Lanka’s competitiveness in the global market through its value added re-exports.
The government’s endorsement of the National Export Strategy (NES) which is based on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative in an effort to steer Sri Lanka away from a middle-income trap is an encouragement to the export sector.
The proposal for an effective monitoring of the budget proposals in line with the Prime Minister’s economic policy statement - Vision 2025 - is very welcomed.
Focus on development and growth of SMEs, together with facilitation of an Exim fund focus is critical for Sri Lanka to achieve the projected growth set out in this budget.
The EASL has continuously campaigned for these measures to be adopted at many forums.
Further it has articulated these points in its strategic recommendations to the government in the form of (NEDEVS) highlighting the following points: 1)
The limited basket of products which Sri Lanka has developed to match internationally accepted standards; 2) The lack of appropriate incentives being offered, especially for SMEs; 3) The disconnect between industry and educational institutions hampering innovation; 4) Inability to attract FDI which brings in not only valuable funds, but technology and access to markets; 5) Suboptimal use of FTAs currently in place between Sri Lanka and foreign states; 6) Frequent increases in the cost of production such as the cost of power, imposition of statutory charge accompanied by a wage structure that does not encourage the rewarding of employees on the basis of productivity which in turn affects competitiveness; 7) Inconsistent policy and the lack of a political will to develop the export sector of Sri Lanka; 8) A lack of clear political objective and duplication of ministerial functions; and 9) External global factors which have a direct impact on Sri Lanka.
The EASL welcomes the acceptance and inclusion of these points by the government in this year’s budget.
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