Contribution of construction-related commodities to the trade balance

This research aims to analyse the contribution of construction-related
commodities to the trade balance of Sri Lanka.
The study has been carried out on selected 310 construction materials and equipments
according to Harmonized System (HS) Codes. Further a survey had been done on 215
importers of steel to determine the percentage of imported construction-related steel on the
total imported steel. Trend analysis is done over the last decade, with the supported
information from price indices, general duties, tariff reforms, economic status of the country
and past performance of the construction industry itself.
It is found that the contribution of imported steel, cement, electrical items and machineries is
more than 80% on total imported construction-related commodities. Steel ranks first among
the construction related commodities followed by cement, electrical items and machineries.
With an annual average contribution of 24.34% to trade balance, the construction-related
imports stand as a main area to be reviewed & reconsidered for the related policy changes.