The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake
Hon. Ravi Karunanayake warned that Sri Lankan exporters cannot quickly replace the high-value US market with alternatives such as India or SAARC, noting that new markets may take two to four years to develop. He said high domestic taxes, labour and electricity costs are reducing competitiveness, while exporters are already facing thinner margins, stalled new orders and cash-flow pressures despite a temporary tariff suspension. He urged that the planned VAT digitalization and abolition of SVAT be implemented seamlessly, and called for priority attention to existing US, UK and EU markets that support around 1.5 million jobs.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Opening new markets takes time. The USA’s high-value market cannot be replaced quickly, even by India or SAARC, due to price differences. Producers will face thinner margins; domestic issues—high taxes, labour and electricity costs—hurt competitiveness. The Commissioner General of Inland Revenue said VAT will be digitalized and SVAT abolished; please ensure a seamless process, or exporters on thin margins with cash flow constraints will face major issues. Exporters worry: new orders have stopped; the three-month tariff suspension helped ship existing orders, but spring orders have not arrived. New markets are not immediate—it can take 2–4 years. Focus on existing markets supporting about 1.5 million jobs. That is why I asked about the USA, UK and EU.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 17 June 2025 ·No. 1750929357043199 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 17 June 2025. No. 1750929357043199. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/14746