7 percent, to 921million US dollars in November 2014 from a year earlier due to decline in earnings from textiles and garments followed by rubber products ,gems, diamonds and jewellery categorized under industrial exports, the Central bank said.
As the growth of imports weighed on the export earnings, the trade deficit widened to US dollars 724 million in November 2014, compared to US dollars 538 million in November 2013, data showed.
During the first eleven months of 2014, the main import origins continued to be India, China, UAE, Singapore and Japan accounting for about 59 per cent of total imports.
Trade deficits are caused when market participants in a country earn and spend money from selling abroad sources other than goods.
In November worker remittances (exports of labour) rose 9.1 percent to 619.3 million US dollars, and tourism earnings rose 17.
5 percent to 173 million US dollars.
In the eleven months to November exports were up 7.5 percent to 10,107.8 million US dollars, imports up 7.
1 percent to 17,617.6 million US dollars and the trade gap widened by 6.
6 percent over the corresponding period in 2013,
Long term loans obtained by the government during the year to end November 2014 amounted to