Sri Lanka sees 56% rise in May imports

Leading analysts point to a recovery in Sri Lanka's construction sector following a 56 per cent rise in cement imports during May 2018, while domestic production has also increased.

Following the 1Q18 contraction in construction of 4.9 per cent, cement imports surged to 633,000t in May 2018, taking the total imports in the first five months to 2.3Mt, which is up 1.5 per cent from a year earlier.

Domestic production grew 0.5 per cent to 220,000t in May. However, over the first five months of the year the total production of 1.18Mt was still down 2.6 per cent, compared to the same period of 2017.

Total imports and production were static at 3.42Mt up to May. Up to April domestic production was down 3.3 per cent to 898,000t and imports fell eight per cent to 2.56Mt.