Sri Lamka population = 22 Million people....Sri Lanka’s also has had monster external debt arising from their persistent trade deficits...$60 billion debt.
How can they ever repay their debt since they don’t have goods to offer that
their creditor nations want to buy?
It appears Sri Lanka is yet another debtor nation.
What are the major products exported from Sri Lanka?
Mineral fuels including oil:$695.2 million
Vehicles:$537.8 million
Iron and steel:$292.5 million
Salt,sulphur,stone,cement:$291.7 million
Cereals:$241.4 million
Cotton:$232.8 million
Machinery:$218.1 million
Pharmaceuticals:$208.5 million
Knitted or crocheted fabric:$132.6 million
Arms,ammunition:$121.2 million
But another site has a different list and claims $11B a year in exports.
The most recent exports are led by Tea ($1.27B), Other Women’s Undergarments ($518M), Knit Women’s Undergarments ($466M), Knit Women’s Suits ($447M), and Non-Knit Women’s Suits ($446M). The most common destination for the exports of Sri Lanka are United States ($2.61B), United Kingdom ($922M), India ($740M), Germany ($678M), and Italy ($460M).
You can’’t have too many other women’s undergarments.
Tourism accounts for another $3.5 billion a year pre-covid.
They have tea and rice, which have ready markets. And there is (or was) tourism, which was quite important pre-covid. And a bunch of other things too.
The problem is they have been living beyond their means.