Sri Lanka’s ICT/BPM exports drop 10.5% even as services rise
- ICT/BPM export earnings fell 10.49% to $135.10 million in August.
- Total services exports rose 13.97% to $331.87 million.
- January–August services exports reached $2,600.73 million, up 6.59%.
- Sri Lanka’s total exports passed $12 billion in the first eight months.
COLOMBO, SRI LANKA — Sri Lanka’s information and communication technology and business process management (ICT/BPM) export earnings fell 10.49% year on year to $135.10 million in August 2026, even as the country’s total services exports rose 13.97% to $331.87 million.
The decline leaves ICT/BPM moving against the wider services sector, though it still accounted for about two-fifths of August services export earnings.
Construction earnings also fall
Earnings from construction services fell 36.91% to $7.62 million, according to EconomyNext, which cited Export Development Board (EDB) data.
Services exports reached an estimated $2,600.73 million from January to August, up 6.59% year on year.
Total exports of goods and services reached $1,601.36 million in August, up 1.77% from a year earlier.
Merchandise exports fell 1.0% to $1,269.49 million in the month, with apparel and textiles down 8.4% to $464.27 million.
EDB highlights $12 billion milestone
In its own statement, the EDB said total exports passed $12 billion in the first eight months, reaching $12.01 billion, up 4.26%.
The EDB described ICT/BPM as continuing to make a strong contribution to services exports but did not mention the year-on-year decline.
“Greater value addition, innovation, technology adoption, market diversification and deeper integration into global value chains will be critical to sustaining export growth and creating greater value for the national economy,” said Mangala Wijesinghe, chairman and CEO of the EDB.
The EDB named ICT/BPM, construction, financial services, and transport and logistics as the high-value service industries diversifying the country’s export basket.
It said it will keep working with exporters, industry associations and government stakeholders to address emerging challenges and improve the environment for international trade.
For buyers of offshore outsourcing and business process outsourcing (BPO) services, the August drop is a single month of data but runs against the wider growth in Sri Lanka’s services exports.
Buyers comparing Sri Lanka with other destinations on the top BPO companies worldwide list can watch whether ICT/BPM earnings recover in the coming months.
Related news
- BPO powers India’s $221.4Bn software export haul · 22 Sep
- Formix secures new Australian IT contracts for Sri Lanka · 10 Sep
- Formix launches a Sri Lanka BPO talent push · 25 Aug
Disclosure: Outsource Accelerator uses AI tools in the backend of its editorial workflow. Every article is reviewed and verified by a human editor before publication.
Stay ahead of the outsourcing industry. Join thousands of business leaders who rely on Outsource Accelerator for the news, trends, and expert insights that matter. Subscribe to our free newsletter and never miss an update.
