Industrial exports grew 3.3 percent to 630.5 million US dollars with rubber products growing 17.5 percent to 75.2 million but apparel exports growing only 1.4 percent to 341.5 million US dollars.
Industrial exports grew at the same rate in January.
Imports grew 27.9 percent to 1,580.7 million US dollars in February with investment goods growing 41.5 percent to 379.7 million US dollars.
Intermediate goods grew 36.8 percent to 947.4 million US dollars with petroleum imports grew 111 percent to 505.6 million US dollars.
The trade gap expanded 67.5 percent to 701.8 million US dollars.
In the first two months of the year exports grew only 3.3 percent to 1.79 billion US dollars while imports grew 24.7 percent to 3.45 billion US dollars, expanding the trade gap 59.7 percent to 1.69 billion US dollars.Sri Lanka has a persistent trade deficit because the Treasury borrows abroad exporting debt, and exported labour sends back remittances increasing the spending power in the domestic economy which generate imports.
In the first two months, in addition to 1.79 billion US dollars in goods exports, Sri Lanka has earned 943 million from labou exports and 807 million US dollars from the export of government debt. Tourism has brought a further 174.5 million US dollars.
However Sri Lanka's peg with the US dollar has come under pressure from high credit growth and money printed to sterilize foreign exchange sales and keep interest rates down.
