Addressing a conference, State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe said import restrictions are currently maintained on 600 HS codes (Harmonized System codes).
The relaxation of imports will help price stabilization, Semasinghe said.
The prices of some goods have increased due to import restrictions because there is not enough supply to meet the demand, he said.
The Sri Lankan government restricted the import of 1,465 items in August 2022 due to the economic crisis but lifted restrictions on most of those items on several separate occasions.
Official data show that Sri Lanka’s total import expenditure in 2022 amounted to over 18 billion US dollars, recording a decline of 11.4 per cent from 2021.
