Over the last three months, particularly since an economic crisis started in Sri Lanka, Indian exporters had stopped their shipment to the country. Sri Lanka is a major destination for agri commodities such as sugar, grapes and onions. Since the economic crisis has erupted, most exporters have kept trade suspended even though some have complained of their payment being stuck.
India’s export bill to the island nation for the financial year 2021-22 stood at $ 5,208.3 million, a 65 per cent year-on-year growth. Engineering goods, skimmed milk powder, sugar, onions, and grapes are the major exports to Sri Lanka. Given the easy connectivity through sea, Indian exporters normally send out their consignments from ports in vessels.
Most of the credit line which was allowed by the Reserve Bank of India was used by Sri Lanka to import fuel and food. One of the commodities which has since stopped going to Sri Lanka are Indian onions. For the financial year 2021-22, India exported 162,000 tons of the kitchen staples to Sri Lanka.
Source: indianexpress.com