Sri Lanka Total Merchandise Trade Import value

Sri Lanka Total Merchandise Trade Import value: Key Points

• The 2014-2023 run puts Sri Lanka's total Merchandise Trade import value at 16.81B USD by the end, down from 19.42B USD at the start — a fall of some 13%.
• 2017-2018: works higher, reaching 22.23B USD (+16%).
• 2019-2020: erodes to 16.06B USD (-28%).
• 2021: lifts to 20.64B USD (+29%).
• 2022-2023: keeps falling, down to 16.81B USD (-19%).
• 2023: Ends the series at 16.81B USD — 13.4% below the 2014 baseline.

What Broke Global Trade In 2020

Multiple direction changes over the period mean any two-point comparison — say, first year to last — is likely to be misleading on its own. The middle years matter just as much.

The scale of this drop matches what happened to trade worldwide in 2020, as the pandemic disrupted both the supply side and the demand side of trade at once.

This isn't a uniquely local rebound — global trade recovered broadly in 2021 as pandemic-era restrictions eased and demand returned.

A useful next step is checking whether Sri Lanka's policy or economic context changed materially over this period — total Merchandise Trade import value series like this one often reflect a specific decision or shock more than a slow organic drift.

Data like this is rarely a fresh annual count. It is more often a periodic survey with the in-between years estimated — worth knowing before treating every single year as an independent, precise measurement.