Free Trade Zone Manufacturers Association (FTZMA) last week called for swift actions from authorities to avoid mass-scale job losses and closures in the export sector amid looming global recession exacerbated by the unprecedented local economic crisis and policy measures.
“Our export figures have taken a plunge, and many industrial exporters are downsizing, shutting down operations, or relocating. The SME sector has been particularly hard-hit, with the withdrawal of loan moratorium and the contraction of large-scale enterprises having a cascading effect.

We fervently hope that the authorities will realise the seriousness of the situation and take swift action to prevent mass-scale job losses and closure that will ultimately lead to decreasing of foreign income to the country,”newly elected FTZMA President Dhammika Fernando said.
Sri Lanka’s merchandise exports have been on a declining trend since last October mainly due to the economic slowdown in Europe and the United States which are the main export markets of the country.

Fernando stressed that the country’s economic crisis combined with certain policy measures are eroding the global competitiveness of Sri Lankan exporters, while exporters are faced with “volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity” due to certain policy decisions.
“The increase in corporate and personal taxes, unfavourable forex rates, and the abnormal increase in the cost of commodities, particularly energy, have caused our production costs to skyrocket, eroding  global competitiveness,” he noted.

It is a body comprising companies such as Amazon, Apple, Booking.com, Expedia Group, Google, GoTo, Grab, LINE, LinkedIn, Meta, Rakuten, X and Yahoo.