Sri Lanka, Australia bilateral trade up 18-pct in 2014

Sep 04, 2015 (LBO) – Two-way trade in goods between Australia and Sri Lanka has recorded an 18 percent increase last year over the previous year, Australian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka said.

Speaking at a recent event High Commissioner Robyn Mudie said the bilateral trade in goods has reached 420 million Australian Dollars in 2014. “Our trade and investment relationship has shown significant growth over the past two years,” Mudie said.

Bilateral trade in services has also surpassed 410 million Australian Dollars.

“But there’s much we can do to increase two way investment from the current stock of 270 million Australian Dollars.” she said.

High Commissioner said Australia is focusing on tourism, agribusiness and education in the coming years. Sri Lanka targets 2.5 million tourists in the medium term.

“Australians are visiting Sri Lanka in ever greater numbers – 62,000 last year, and growing at almost 15 percent per year for the past five years,” she said.

In the agribusiness sector, Australian government’s Export Finance Insurance Corporation has extended their support through a five year, 30 million US dollar project to increase the nation’s fresh milk supply.

The project aims to raise the daily average yield from 3 liters of milk per cow to a number nearer to Australia’s 26 liters.

Mudie said Australian companies have also expressed interest in sharing technology and know-how to assist the development of Sri Lanka’s fisheries sector.

“Australian expertise can assist the local tuna industry to improve the catch, and adopt new technologies in tuna farming, barramundi and broader aquaculture.” she said.

Speaking about the education, Australian High Commissioner stated that around 6,000 Sri Lankans are currently undertaking studies in Australia and will grow in the years to come.