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| Sri Lanka Export Development Board | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sri Lanka Export Development Board |
| Formation | 1979 |
| Headquarters | Colombo |
| Region served | Sri Lanka |
| Leader title | Chairman |
| Parent organization | Ministry of Investment, Promotion and Highways |
Sri Lanka Export Development Board is the national agency responsible for promoting and facilitating exports from Sri Lanka, coordinating policy implementation, and supporting exporters across sectors. It operates within the Sri Lankan institutional landscape alongside entities such as the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, Ministry of Finance (Sri Lanka), and Ministry of Commerce and Consumer Protection to advance international trade, foreign exchange earnings, and sectoral competitiveness. The Board engages with international organisations including the World Trade Organization, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and Asian Development Bank to align export promotion with global standards and market access strategies.
The Board was established in 1979 as part of a reform wave that included measures associated with the Open Economy policy (Sri Lanka) and the broader structural adjustments influenced by institutions like the International Monetary Fund. Early decades saw interaction with commodity-oriented bodies such as the Ceylon Tea Board, the Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka, and the Sri Lanka Coconut Development Authority as traditional exports—tea, rubber, and coconut—drove foreign exchange. During the 1990s and 2000s the Board adapted to liberalisation trends, trade liberalisation episodes and bilateral frameworks exemplified by engagements with India–Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. In the 2010s the institution expanded support for services exports and small and medium enterprises, reflecting shifts seen in agreements like the General Agreement on Trade in Services and multilateral negotiations at the WTO Doha Round.
The Board’s statutory mandate covers export promotion, market development, and export facilitation consistent with legislation and policy instruments administered by bodies such as the Parliament of Sri Lanka and ministries including the Ministry of Investment, Promotion and Highways. Core functions include export policy advisory work linked to the National Export Strategy (Sri Lanka), trade intelligence provision akin to initiatives by the International Trade Centre, and capacity building for exporters comparable to programming of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. It also administers export incentive schemes similar to customs facilitation administered by the Department of Customs (Sri Lanka), and coordinates certification processes alongside the Sri Lanka Standards Institution.
The Board is led by a Chairman and supported by a Secretariat and divisions that mirror functional groupings in trade promotion agencies globally, including divisions for sector development, market access, trade facilitation, and research. Administrative oversight interfaces with statutory bodies such as the Treasury (Sri Lanka) and regulatory agencies including the Department of Commerce (Sri Lanka). Regional outreach is effected through offices that partner with provincial authorities like the Western Province (Sri Lanka) administration and industry chambers such as the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka.
The Board has launched sectoral and cross-cutting programs to boost exports from sectors comparable to those supported by the Ceylon Tea Services Limited, Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association, and agro-processing clusters. Initiatives include trade missions, trade fairs, and buyer-seller meets modeled on events like the Colombo International Trade Fair, market entry support resembling programmes from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and digitalisation drives for exporters analogous to platforms promoted by the International Trade Centre ecomconnect programme. Special schemes target women entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises, reflecting principles advanced by the International Labour Organization and the United Nations Development Programme.
Export promotion activities encompass promotion in established markets such as United Kingdom, United States, India, China, and emerging markets across ASEAN and Middle East regions. The Board organises participation in international exhibitions like exhibitions in Dubai, Frankfurt, and Hong Kong and coordinates bilateral trade delegations modeled after engagements between countries in SAARC. Market intelligence reports and buyer databases are produced to assist exporters competing in supply chains that include multinational retailers such as Marks & Spencer, Walmart, and Carrefour and buyers from the European Union and United States Department of Commerce.
The Board conducts applied research on competitiveness, value chain analysis and standards compliance, drawing on methodologies used by the World Bank, OECD, and Asian Development Bank. It publishes export performance statistics in collaboration with the Department of Census and Statistics (Sri Lanka) and issues guidance on non-tariff measures, sanitary and phytosanitary requirements paralleling work by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and the World Organisation for Animal Health. Training and consultancy services for exporters cover quality management, intellectual property interfaces with the National Intellectual Property Office of Sri Lanka, and conformity assessment linked to the Sri Lanka Accreditation Board.
The Board maintains partnerships with multilateral institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, UNCTAD, and regional development banks including the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank. Bilateral collaborations involve trade promotion agencies like UK Department for International Trade, Japan External Trade Organization, and Enterprise Singapore. It also engages with private sector stakeholders—exporters’ associations, chambers of commerce, and multinational corporations—and participates in regional frameworks including SAARC, ASEAN–India cooperation, and negotiations linked to Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership discussions. These engagements aim to enhance market access, regulatory coherence, and integration of Sri Lankan exporters into global value chains.
Category:Export promotion agencies Category:Economy of Sri Lanka