Seven in ten Sri Lankan exporters already sell online, but paperwork and slow delivery hold them back: Survey
Sri Lankan exporters are taking to online selling faster than the country’s trade systems are keeping up. A new survey shows seven in ten already use e-commerce, but many are still tangled in paperwork, slow deliveries and high costs.
The findings are in “E-commerce and international trade in Sri Lanka: Findings from a survey of 953 exporters and importers”, a report by ODI Global and the Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM). It was launched at GovTech Sri Lanka in Colombo on October 8, before policymakers, industry leaders and researchers.
The survey ran between October 2025 and February 2026 and covered 9% of Sri Lanka’s trading firms. It is the country’s first firm-level study of how e-commerce and international trade connect, and it builds on earlier research into domestic e-commerce adoption.
Small firms leading the way
The numbers suggest that online selling is no longer a niche activity. Among surveyed micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) exporters, 72% use e-commerce.
For smaller businesses, the appeal is plain. They can test a market, sell directly to consumers and build an overseas customer base without the cost of the traditional export route. Exporters using e-commerce report wider access to buyers in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Direct-to-consumer sales are also growing in groceries, packaged foods, health and beauty products, and electronics.
The hard part comes after the click
Getting online is the easy part. Once an order is placed, firms say, the problems begin.
About 80% of surveyed e-commerce exporters reported difficulty with complex documentation. Most business-to-consumer and business-to-business export shipments take more than two weeks to reach the buyer. Firms also pointed to high costs and delays in customs, logistics and payments, along with gaps in cybersecurity and digital skills.
The report argues that the policy conversation should move on from persuading firms to adopt e-commerce. It calls instead for coordinated reform across the whole digital trade system. Its priorities are:
- modernising trade infrastructure
- simplifying customs and documentation
- improving logistics and payment systems
- strengthening cybersecurity
- expanding practical digital skills
Together, the report says, these steps could make cross-border transactions faster, simpler and more secure.
What officials and authors said
Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eng. Eranga Weeraratne said e-commerce offers MSMEs “a significant opportunity to reach global markets”, and that the priority is an enabling environment: simpler trade processes, stronger digital infrastructure and logistics, and the skills to compete globally. He said the report gives valuable evidence to shape the reforms needed.
Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Chief Advisor to the President on Digital Economy and Chairman of GovTech Sri Lanka, stressed the value of hard data. Rigorous firm-level research, he said, is essential for benchmarking progress, understanding what businesses actually experience and shaping policy.
Co-author Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja of ODI Global said the survey shows e-commerce and small business are already important to Sri Lanka’s trade. He added that public policies supporting small business in the digital economy, and fixing the cost base, are critical for competitiveness.
From “whether” to “how”
The report’s central message is a shift in the debate. The question is no longer whether Sri Lanka should embrace e-commerce, but how it can build the systems, capabilities and partnerships to compete.
With the right environment, it says, digital trade can open new routes to international customers for Sri Lankan businesses, especially MSMEs. It can also support innovation and help build a more diverse and resilient export economy.
The launch also featured Prof. Dirk Willem te Velde, Director of ODI Global’s International Economic Development Group. Dr. Wignaraja and Ms. Anishka De Zylva presented the findings, followed by a moderated discussion on the practical reforms needed to help Sri Lankan firms succeed online. The event was jointly organised by ODI Global and SLASSCOM, bringing public and private sector views together on the next steps for the country’s digital trade agenda.