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South Asia

Export to Sri Lanka

Close island market with India's oldest FTA. Buys food, medicines, vehicles, yarn and building materials.

Capital
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (Colombo is the commercial capital)
Currency
LKR
Trade agreement with India
India–Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA); also SAFTA and APTA
1 March 2000
Main ports
Colombo, Hambantota, Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo

Sri Lanka is a short sail from Tuticorin, Chennai and Kochi and depends on India for food, medicines, vehicles, cotton yarn and fabric. Its economy went through a severe crisis in 2022, and import controls were used for a time, so payment discipline matters. Colombo is also a major transhipment hub for South Asian cargo.

India–Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA); also SAFTA and APTA

Under the ISFTA, Sri Lanka gives duty-free entry to Indian goods except items on its negative list. Use an ISFTA certificate of origin and check that your product is not on the negative list and meets the origin rules.

What it buys from India

  • Petroleum products, vehicles and auto parts
  • Medicines and pharmaceutical products
  • Cotton yarn, fabric and garment inputs
  • Onions, spices, sugar, rice and other food

Import rules on their side

  • Products on the SLSI import inspection list (many food items, building materials and consumer goods) must meet Sri Lankan standards and are checked before release.
  • Food imports are checked by the health ministry's food control unit; labels must give the product name, ingredients and expiry date, often also in Sinhala or Tamil.
  • Medicines need registration with Sri Lanka's National Medicines Regulatory Authority.

Practical tips

  • Use an LC or advance payment with new buyers, and check ECGC's country rating for Sri Lanka before giving credit.
  • Tamil-speaking traders in Colombo and Jaffna often prefer suppliers from Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
  • Small shipments from Tuticorin or Chennai reach Colombo in one or two days — good for trial orders.
Sources (5)
  1. Department of Commerce — Annual Report 2024-25 (trade agreements chapter)
  2. Sri Lanka Customs
  3. Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI)
  4. WTO — Regional Trade Agreements database
  5. Department of Commerce — TradeStat export-import data bank

Trade data

India’s exports to Sri Lanka in numbers

From the Department of Commerce’s TradeStat (Indian financial years, April–March), the country’s imports from the world from UN Comtrade, and its basics from the World Bank.

India’s exports here, 2025-26
US$ 5.52 bn
No. 24 of our 80 countries
Change from 2024-25
↑ +21.2%
US$ 4.55 bn → US$ 5.52 bn
Share of all Indian exports
1.25%
Its imports from the world
US$ 18.4 bn
2024 · India’s share 20.32%
2020-21: US$ 3.5 bn3.5k2020-212021-22: US$ 5.8 bn5.8k2021-222022-23: US$ 5.11 bn5.1k2022-23n/a2023-242024-25: US$ 4.55 bn4.6k2024-252025-26: US$ 5.52 bn5.5k2025-26
India’s exports to Sri Lanka, year by year · US$ million · TradeStat’s 2023-24 country table is double-counted, so it is not shown

What India sells here most

By HS chapter, 2025-26. Change is against 2024-25.

Name2025-26Change
1Fuels and petroleum productsHS 27US$ 1.02 bn+30%
2Vehicles and partsHS 87US$ 783 mn+298.8%
3MachineryHS 84US$ 357 mn+37.1%
4Ships and boatsHS 89US$ 334 mn+23.9%
5CottonHS 52US$ 297 mn+1.5%
6Medicines and pharmaHS 30US$ 283 mn+23.2%
7Knitted fabricsHS 60US$ 237 mn-12.2%
8Sugar and confectioneryHS 17US$ 164 mn-21.7%
9VegetablesHS 07US$ 132 mn+17.8%
10Electrical and electronicsHS 85US$ 130 mn-9.7%
11Paper and paperboardHS 48US$ 122 mn-8.5%
12Coffee, tea, spicesHS 09US$ 108 mn+10%

What is rising and what is falling

Chapters where India sells at least US$ 5 million. Change from 2024-25 to 2025-26.

High demand

  1. Gums, resins, plant extractsUS$ 3.2 mn → US$ 51.1 mn+1,501.6%
  2. Fish and seafoodUS$ 8.4 mn → US$ 36.3 mn+332%
  3. Fats and oilsUS$ 12 mn → US$ 48.5 mn+303.5%
  4. Vehicles and partsUS$ 196 mn → US$ 783 mn+298.8%
  5. Gems, jewellery, precious metalsUS$ 21.3 mn → US$ 35 mn+64.2%
  6. Other chemical productsUS$ 77.9 mn → US$ 107 mn+37.3%
  7. MachineryUS$ 260 mn → US$ 357 mn+37.1%
  8. Instruments, medical devicesUS$ 26.3 mn → US$ 34.9 mn+33.1%

Low demand

  1. Cereals (rice, wheat, maize)US$ 126 mn → US$ 73.7 mn-41.5%
  2. Sugar and confectioneryUS$ 209 mn → US$ 164 mn-21.7%
  3. Iron and steel articlesUS$ 47.7 mn → US$ 40.2 mn-15.6%
  4. Knitted fabricsUS$ 270 mn → US$ 237 mn-12.2%
  5. Special fabrics, laceUS$ 32.3 mn → US$ 28.8 mn-11%

Opportunity: what this country buys from the world, and from India

The country’s own recorded imports in UN Comtrade, 2024. Chapters with the biggest gap between what it buys from the world and what it buys from India.

Fuels and petroleum productsUS$ 3.96 bnIndia 14.3% · gap US$ 3.39 bn
MachineryUS$ 1.45 bnIndia 14% · gap US$ 1.25 bn
Electrical and electronicsUS$ 1.14 bnIndia 10.6% · gap US$ 1.02 bn
Knitted fabricsUS$ 941 mnIndia 29.5% · gap US$ 664 mn
PlasticsUS$ 674 mnIndia 17.4% · gap US$ 556 mn
Iron and steelUS$ 567 mnIndia 14.5% · gap US$ 485 mn
Cereals (rice, wheat, maize)US$ 458 mnIndia 18.1% · gap US$ 375 mn
Man-made filamentsUS$ 396 mnIndia 9.7% · gap US$ 358 mn
RubberUS$ 402 mnIndia 12.8% · gap US$ 350 mn
VegetablesUS$ 434 mnIndia 26.4% · gap US$ 320 mn

Our product guides that sell here

India’s exports of each product to this country, 2025-26.

Name2025-26Change
1Motorcycles and scootersUS$ 257 mn+8,050.5%
2Generic medicines (formulations)US$ 235 mn+18.1%
3Passenger carsUS$ 213 mn+5,980.6%
4Cotton woven fabricsUS$ 209 mn+8.8%
5SugarUS$ 159 mn-22%
6Knitted fabricsUS$ 153 mn-16.8%
7Fresh vegetablesUS$ 132 mn+17.8%
8SpicesUS$ 99.3 mn+9.8%
9Bicycles and partsUS$ 91.7 mn+3.9%
10ChilliUS$ 81.5 mn+11.5%
11Fresh onionUS$ 81.3 mn+38.2%
12Paper and paperboardUS$ 79.9 mn-4.4%

The 20 biggest export lines

4-digit HS lines, 2025-26, with their Harmonized System descriptions.

Name2025-26Change
1Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals, not crudeHS 2710US$ 1.01 bn+30.3%
2Motorcycles and cyclesHS 8711US$ 257 mn+8,050.5%
3MedicamentsHS 3004US$ 235 mn+18.1%
4Motor cars and other motor vehiclesHS 8703US$ 213 mn+5,980.6%
5Cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose, in solid formHS 1701US$ 159 mn-22%
6FabricsHS 6006US$ 153 mn-16.8%
7Woven fabrics of cotton, containing 85% or more by weight of cotton, weighing not more than 200 g/m2HS 5208US$ 147 mn+16.1%
8VesselsHS 8906US$ 131 mn+34.8%
9Cruise ships, excursion boats, ferry-boats, cargo ships, barges and similar vessels for the transport of…HS 8901US$ 98.3 mn+38.9%
10VehiclesHS 8714US$ 91.7 mn+3.9%
11Light-vessels, fire-floats, dredgers, floating cranes, other vesselsHS 8905US$ 89.4 mn+18.6%
12Pepper of the genus piperHS 0904US$ 81.6 mn+11.2%
13Onions, shallots, garlic, leeks and other alliaceous vegetablesHS 0703US$ 81.3 mn+37.8%
14FabricsHS 6004US$ 81 mn-2.5%
15TractorsHS 8701US$ 67.8 mn+189.2%
16Cotton yarn, containing 85% or more by weight of cotton, not put up for retail saleHS 5205US$ 63.3 mn-14.5%
17Motor vehiclesHS 8708US$ 63.2 mn+18.3%
18VehiclesHS 8704US$ 59 mn+214%
19Activated carbonHS 3802US$ 55.8 mn+94.3%
20Vegetable saps and extractsHS 1302US$ 48.5 mn+1,662.9%

What India buys from Sri Lanka

India’s imports from this country in 2025-26 by HS chapter, from TradeStat — this country can be your supplier too.

India’s imports, 2025-26
US$ 1.66 bn
US$ 1.3 bn → US$ 1.66 bn
India’s exports, 2025-26
US$ 5.52 bn
Trade balance
+US$ 3.86 bn
exports minus imports
Change in imports
+27.3%
Name2025-26Change
1Ships and boatsHS 89—+111.3%
2Animal feed and food residuesHS 23—+37.6%
3Fruit and nutsHS 08—+92.3%
4Coffee, tea, spicesHS 09—-51.9%
5AircraftHS 88—-50.1%
6Woven garmentsHS 62—+17.8%
7Fats and oilsHS 15—+101.8%
8AluminiumHS 76—+363.5%
9Knitted garmentsHS 61—+18.5%
10Flour, malt, starchHS 11—+60.1%

The country at a glance

Population
21.8 mn
2025
GDP
US$ 108.8 bn
2025
GDP per person
US$ 5,002
2025
Imports (goods and services)
US$ 24.9 bn
2025

Sources: TradeStat — Export Import Data Bank, Department of Commerce · UN Comtrade database (United Nations Statistics Division) · World Bank — World Development Indicators · Figures taken 29 October 2026.

What to send to Sri Lanka

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