Transport equipment exports rose to 54.3 million dollars in June from 7.6 million a year earlier.
Apparel exports fell 7.5 percent to 375.4 million dollars. Rubber products also rose 15.4 percent to 73.1 million dollars.
Tea exports grew 13 percent to 138.6 million dollars. The average price for Ceylon Tea rose to 5.36 US dollar in June from 4.27 dollars a year earlier. Earnings from minor agricultural products had also risen 30 percent.
Earnings from seafood exports rose 17.4 percent from a year earlier to 15 million dollars with exports to the EU rising 101.2 percent after a trading ban was lifted.
There was a broad based decline in imports which may point to a slowing economy. In the absence of money printing, large fuel imports should crowd out non-oil imports.
In June total imports fell 8.0 percent to 1.54 billion US dollars with fuel imports also falling 34 percent to 200.6 million US dollars.
Consumer goods fell 8.9 percent to 322.7 million dollars and intermediate goods 12.9 percent to 792.1 million dollars.
Crude oil imports slumped 67 percent to 35.6 million dollars and coal fell 16 percent to 164.9 million US dollars.
Investment goods fell 1.2 percent to 405.3 million US dollars, with machinery down 2.0 percent, and building material down 6.8 percent to 128.5 million US dollars.
In June trade the trade deficit fell to 553 million US dollars from 775.2 million US dollars.
In the six months to June exports rose 5.2 percent to 5.39 billion US dollars, imports fell 8.9 percent to 10.15 billion US dollars and the trade gap rose to 4.7 billion US dollars from 4.19 billion US dollars. (Colombo/Aug26/2017)