Sri Lankan exports rise in Poland

Anjana Samarasinghe

Bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Poland showed a significant growth with exports from Sri Lanka to Poland doubling over the last six years. Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka - Poland Business Council (SLPBC) President Nirmalee Samaratunga said on a year-on-year basis, exports from Sri

 Lanka to Poland grew by 40 per cent over 2005 and imports from Poland increased by 29 per cent over last year.

However tea remains the dominant export, accounting for over 50 per cent of the total exports to Poland from Sri Lanka. Other export lines such as value added coconut, rubber products, textiles, garments, ceramics, gem and jewellery have found markets in Poland and need to be developed further, he said.

"Although trade with Poland has increased it still remains at a mere 0.4 per cent of the country's total trade. We have noticed that potential markets in Poland is still largely untapped by Sri Lanka.

Tourism is yet another potential sector both for inbound and outbound travel," she said. "The polish economy has been growing at a steady pace of over five per cent annually. It is driven by foreign direct investments, EU development funds and remittances from foreign employment. This has improved the real wages and income of the Polish people resulting in greater purchasing power," she said.

Poland is an ideal gateway for Sri Lanka to enter into the European Union and East European markets. Some local businesses are interested in setting up warehouses in Poland to enter into EU.

"Poland could also use Sri Lanka as a gateway to the Indian and Pakistani markets. Free Trade Agreements that Sri Lanka have with these two countries and the EU GSP plus concessions will help attract more polish investors to the country," she said.

Meanwhile, SLPBC launched its website yesterday.