Exporters urge Govt. action to avert looming cash flow crisis

• Export sector likely to face cash crunch soon

• Situation exacerbated by increase in energy costs 

• Industry projections, performance targets likely to be adversely affected

Exporters have called for urgent Government intervention to mitigate an impending cash flow crisis in Sri Lanka’s export sector, driven by the ongoing Middle East conflict and rising global economic uncertainty.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, National Chamber of Exporters (NCE) Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer Shiham Marikar warned that the local export sector was likely to face a significant cash crunch in the near term. 

He attributed this to escalating business costs and a slowdown in export orders amid continued external market volatility.

Marikar further noted that the recent increase in energy costs had exacerbated the situation, increasing the overall cost of doing business for exporters. As a result, he stated that industry projections and performance targets for the year were likely to be adversely affected, leading to mounting cash flow constraints across the sector.

Against this backdrop, the NCE Secretary General stressed the need for proactive Government intervention to provide relief to exporters facing these challenges.

“The Ministry of Finance needs to come on board and provide some form of cushion or support to the industry to weather this imminent crisis,” he said.

Marikar revealed that the NCE intended to engage with relevant authorities in the coming weeks to explore the possibility of short-term support measures to help exporters sustain operations during this period of uncertainty.

Commenting on the nature of the relief sought, he indicated that the Ministry of Finance should work with the banking sector to extend short-term assistance to exporters, drawing parallels to the moratorium schemes introduced during previous periods of economic stress.

He also cautioned that the full impact of the ongoing Middle East crisis was yet to be felt by the local export industry, noting that the effects were likely to materialise within the next one to two months. 

According to Marikar, the situation could intensify further over the next six months, underscoring the urgent need for timely and proactive intervention.

source: The Morning