RemittancesGateway.org

Sri Lanka's worker remittances rise by 23.6%

Tuesday, 08 March 2011 10:05

Source: MSN (from AFP)

Sri Lankans employed abroad sent home a record $4.11 billion in 2010, up by nearly a quarter from the previous year, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said Monday.

Over 1.5 million Sri Lankans are employed abroad, mainly as labourers or housemaids in Gulf states. They are the biggest single source of foreign exchange for the South Asian nation, which has a population of 20 million.

"During 2010, workers' remittances increased by 23.6 per cent to $4.11 billion over that of 2009," the bank said in a statement.

A bank official said the global economic downturn had not adversely affected low-paying jobs in Gulf states, and that expatriate workers had send home more money following the end of Sri Lanka's decades-long ethnic conflict in 2009.

"Expatriate workers were also increasingly using legal channels to send money home and that was also reflected in higher remittances," the official said.

The bank said Sri Lanka's exports also hit a record $8.3 billion in calendar 2010, up 17.3 percent compared with 2009, but the overall trade deficit grew to $5.2 billion, an expansion of 66.7 percent on the previous year.

Import costs were sharply higher, mainly because of surging oil prices and a flood of vehicles and consumer goods following a reduction in import duties, the bank said.

Better prices for Sri Lankan tea, the main export commodity, and clothing helped to partially offset these factors, the bank said.

The country's economy grew 8.0 percent in 2010, up from 3.5 percent a year earlier. Sri Lanka expects to maintain 7 to 8 percent growth in 2011.