FINANCIAL CHRONICLE – According to government data, revenue from Sri Lanka’s coconut-based products reached a record high last year, showing a remarkable 43 percent growth. In contrast, foreign exchange income from tea saw a slight increase, while revenue from rubber declined.
Earnings from coconut-based products soared to an unprecedented 1,233 million US dollars, surpassing the previous record of 864.3 million US dollars set in 2024. The Export Development Board (EDB) credited this impressive performance to significant growth in several key areas: coconut cream sales increased by over 93 percent, coconut oil by 79 percent, and coconut milk powder by more than 61 percent.
The revenue from tea, Sri Lanka’s leading export commodity, rose by 5 percent, reaching 1,507.2 million US dollars last year, marking its highest level since 2017.
In contrast, revenue from rubber, which had exceeded the 1 billion US dollar threshold in 2024, experienced a decline of 5.6 percent, falling to 945.7 million US dollars.
Overall, the revenue from the three main plantation export crops increased by 11.6 percent, totaling 3,685.9 million US dollars compared to 3,301.6 million US dollars the previous year.
Analysts have attributed this overall gain to favorable weather conditions during the first 11 months of the year, although production was later impacted by the Ditwah devastation in late November.
(Colombo/January 27/2026)
