Republic of Sri Lanka

Population: 21,670,000 (2018)
GDP: 88.9 Billion USD (2018)
Total Area: 62,710 sq km
Agriculture Land: 43.69% (2016)
Forest: 32.9% (2016)


Sri Lanka is a middle-income country with a GDP per capita of USD 4,102 (2018) and a total population of 21.7 million people. Following 30 years of civil war that ended in 2009, Sri Lanka’s economy grew at an average 5.6 percent during the period of 2010-2018. The economy is transitioning from a predominantly rural-based economy towards a more urbanized economy oriented around manufacturing and services. Sri Lanka’s GDP is expected to grow by 2.6 percent in 2019. The island is rich in minerals like ilmenite, feldspar, graphite, silica, kaolin, mica and thorium, and oil and gas. The country produces and exports tea, rubber, coffee, sugar and various other commodities. The Government has unveiled a National Export Strategy (NES) aimed at elevating the export sector of Sri Lanka from...

Natural Rubber

Sri Lanka embarked on the rubber industry in 1876 with planting of a few hundreds of Brazilian rubber seeds received from the Kew Gardens in London which resulted in large extents of land coming under rubber in the wet zone by early 1900s. By the 1970s, over 200,000 hectares were covered by rubber plantations both in the form of estates as well as smallholdings.In the 1980s the liberalization of industrial investments, both local and foreign, attracted not only funds but technology, management and markets. This has set the foundations for a modern rubber products manufacturing industry that has made an indelible mark in global markets with industrial tires, latex gloves and numerous assorted products. In 2013, value of rubber-based products made locally exceeded US$ 1,084 million whereas export value of all types of raw rubber was US$ 71 million. As a producer Sri Lanka has a current market share of 0.6 percent (2018) of the global natural rubber market. In 2015 the Government of Sri Lanka has validated a “Sri Lanka Rubber Industry Master Plan 2017-2026” to promote further the rubber industry development to ensure sustainable delivery of added value products to the market while assuring increasing living standards to...

Synthetic Rubber

Sri Lanka is not a producer of synthetic rubber. Synthetic rubber consumption, either in blends or as synthetic rubber alone, is less than 12.5 percent of the total rubber consumed compared to a global average of 58 percent.

Government & Other Agencies

Ministry of Plantation Industries
08th Floor, Stage II, Sethsiripaya,
Battaramulla.
Phone: +94 11-2186160
E-mail: mpiadas@sltnet.lk
Website: plantationindustries.gov.lk
Sri Lanka Export Development Board
No.42 Nawam Mawatha
Colombo-02, Sri Lanka
Phone: +94 11 230-0705/11
Fax: +94-11-230-0715
E-mail: edb@edb.gov.lk
Website: srilankabusiness.com
Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka
Dartonfield, Agalawatta, Sri Lanka, 12200
Phone: +94 34 2247426, 034 – 2247383
E-mail: dirrri@sltnet.lk
Website: www.rrisl.gov.lk
Sri Lanka Association of manufacturers and Exporters of Rubber Products (SLAMERP)
Global Rubber Industries PVT LTD
No. 28 Joseph’s Lane
Colombo-4, Sri Lanka
Phone: +94 11 2598831
Fax: +94 11 2598831
E-mail: directorgeneral@slamerp.lk
Website: www.slamerp.lk
Colombo Rubber Traders’ Association (CRTA)
c/o The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce
50 Navam Mawatha
Colombo-02, Sri Lanka
Phone: +94 01 2380150/2421745-6
Fax: +94 01 2437477/2449352
E-mail: info@crtasl.org
Website: www.crtasl.org
Press Releases
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Prabhash Subasinghe appointed Chairman of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board
The president of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has appointed Prabhash Subasinghe, managing director of GRI, as the new chairman of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB). The EDB’s aim is to position Sri Lanka as a prominent export hub for products and services. Subasinghe is described as an ambitious and astute entrepreneur. He has a degree in applied economics and business from Cornell University, and undertook subsequent studies at...
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MoU signed to implement Rubber Plantation plan
A Memorandum of Understanding between the Plantation Industries Ministry and the Sri Lanka Rubber Industries Association to implement the Rubber Plan was signed Thursday, September 12, under the patronage of the Minister of Plantation Industries and UNP National Organizer Navin Dissanayake at the Rubber Secretariat. The agreement was signed by JA Ranjith, Secretary to the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Tommy Ellawala, the President of the Rubber Industry Association.The objective...
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Sri Lanka rubber sector aiming to become $3 billion a year industry by 2025
The Colombo Rubber traders’ association (CRTA) celebrated its 100th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Colombo recently. Speaking during the event, managing director of global rubber industries (Pvt) Ltd Prabhash Subasinghe emphasized upon the activities that needs to be implemented in order to make Sri Lanka rubber industry a $3 billion industry by 2025. “The turnover of the rubber industry today stands at approximately $1 billion with the aim of becoming a...