Sri Lanka's Apex Organisation for Export Promotion
The Export Development Board (EDB) and the Sri Lanka Police have signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen mutual cooperation in investigations related to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) recently hosted the 25th Exporters’ Forum at its headquarters, providing a vital platform for exporters to voice their concerns and seek practical solutions to challenges faced in the export sector. Held on March 24, 2025, the Forum attracted a diverse group of stakeholders from the export industry.
Total exports, including both merchandise and services, reached at US$ 1,382.53 Mn in February 2025, marking a notable 4.62% year-on- year growth compared to February 2024. Additionally, exports recorded a 2.58% month-on-month increase compared to January 2025.
The Sri Lankan Export Development Board (EDB) is proud to host the newly launched SheTrades Sri Lanka Hub, marking a milestone in the country’s ongoing efforts to support women entrepreneurs. As the host institution, EDB, in collaboration with ITC SheTrades, uses the SheTrades Outlook tool to monitor the policy environment and assess its support for women entrepreneurs across Sri Lanka.
In a significant move to expand Sri Lanka’s footprint in the global food and beverage sector, the country made a remarkable presence at the International Food & Drink Event (IFE) 2025, held in London from March 17th to 19th 2025. The event provided a platform to highlight Sri Lanka’s diverse and high-quality food and beverage exports, opening doors for strategic business collaborations and new market opportunities in UK.
A full-day workshop was recently held at the Mahaweli Reach Hotel, Kandy, bringing together regulators, industry experts, and organic farmers to discuss aligning Sri Lanka’s organic regulations with Great Britain’s (GB) organic standards. This initiative, a critical step towards gaining recognition from the UK’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), is expected to enhance Sri Lanka’s competitiveness in the international organic market while reducing certification costs and encouraging more farmers and processors to transition to organic agriculture.
The Export Development Board (EDB), in collaboration with the German Import Promotion Desk (IPD), successfully completed the SME sourcing mission for 2025, aimed at boosting Sri Lankan exports to the European market.
(Colombo/Geneva) – On 14 March, the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) are launching the SheTrades Sri Lanka Hub, funded by the UK’s SheTrades Commonwealth+ Programme.. The hub will serve as a resource centre to equip women entrepreneurs with the skills, market access, and policy support required to successfully navigate international trade dynamics, fostering greater participation in global trade.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) successfully organized a country pavilion at BioFach 2025, the world’s largest annual organic trade fair, held from 11th to 14th February 2025 in Nuremberg, Germany. Nine Sri Lankan export companies participated in the event, showcasing a diverse range of certified organic agricultural products, including food & beverages, spices, tea, coconut-based products, fruits & vegetables, and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) certified Ceylon Cinnamon products.
With over 400 certified organic exporters/ processors and more than 12,000 organic producers, Sri Lanka’s organic sector contributes over $0.5 billion annually to the national economy. By aligning regulations with international standards, the country aims to strengthen its credibility in the global organic market and unlock new trade opportunities. Key organic exports include tea, coconut-based products, spices, traditional rice, herbal products, and nutraceuticals.
Sri Lanka’s exports have surged past $1.3 billion in January 2025, marking a strong and promising start to the year! This remarkable growth reflects the resilience, innovation, and competitiveness of Sri Lankan industries, paving the way for sustained economic success.
The National Organic Control Unit (NOCU), the competent authority for organic agriculture in Sri Lanka under the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), launched its ambitious, island wide initiative of awareness programmes to promote organic farming practices recently. As part of the national programme, the first awareness programme planned for 2025 was held successfully in Jaffna on the 21st of January at J Hotels. The event drew an enthusiastic crowd of approximately 100 participants. Attendees, representing diverse sectors within the agriculture industry, engaged in interactive sessions that emphasized NOCU’s pivotal role in fostering a trustworthy organic agriculture value chain. The participants, representing various sectors of the agriculture industry, gained valuable insights into organic farming, processing methods, market opportunities, standards, and international certification procedures.
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Union (EU), has commenced the Sri Lanka Export Excellence Initiative (SLEEI) 2025. Supported under EU's regional initiative 'Accelerating Climate Smart and Inclusive Infrastructure in South Asia (ACSIIS)’ as part of the EU Global Gateway Strategy, the SLEII is a strategic initiative to enhance the export capabilities of Sri Lankan SMEs. This initiative includes three components: I: ExpoNavigator for awareness raising and training, II: ExpoScaleUp for capacity-building and export marketing planning, and III: ExpoConnect for market access support through trade fairs and B2B meetings.
The International Trade Centre (ITC), in collaboration with the British High Commission in Colombo and the SheTrades Sri Lanka Hub, hosted by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), launched two sector-specific export handbooks aimed at equipping Sri Lankan women-led businesses with essential knowledge to enter the United Kingdom (UK) market. The launch event which, held on 27th January at Westminster House in Colombo convened key stakeholders from Sri Lanka and the UK to mark this significant milestone in trade facilitation.
As per the provisional data released by the Sri Lanka Customs, the merchandise export performance in December 2024 amounted to US$ 1,042.5 million, reflecting an 4.06% increase compared to December 2023. This was mainly due to the increase in earnings from export of Apparel & Textiles, Tea, Rubber based products, Coconut based products, Spices & Concentrates and Food & Beverages.
The 26th Presidential Export Awards Ceremony, aimed to recognize best exporters in Sri Lanka, will be held on 7th February 2025 with the sponsorship of Sampath Bank PLC as the Platinum Sponsor. Further DFCC Bank PLC and the Sri Lanka Export Credit Insurance Corporation (SLECIC) will be the Silver Sponsors of the event. These sponsors have joined hands with the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) to support the event.
The 26th Presidential Export Awards Ceremony, organized by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), will take place on Friday, February 7, 2025, at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) under the patronage of His Excellency Anura Kumara Dissanayake, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
The Export Development Board (EDB) successfully conducted a networking and knowledge sharing session for the women entrepreneurs registered under the “Women Entrepreneurship Development Program” recently at the EDB-NDB Tower, Colombo 02. The event addressed one of the key barriers faced by women entrepreneurs, lack of networking opportunities with industry leaders.
In a significant development for Sri Lanka’s Fair trade sector, a stakeholders' meeting was recently held in Colombo in December 2024, organized by the Export Development Board (EDB) and the Fairtrade Network of Asia Pacific Producers (NAPP), Sri Lanka. The meeting aimed to discuss the main projects currently executing, future of Fairtrade in Sri Lanka, issues pertaining to the sector and its expanding international presence.
Total exports for November 2024, including both merchandise and services, were recorded at US$ 1,269.33 million, reflecting a marginal increase of 0.04% compared to the same period in 2023.
