The Government’s recent measures to curb vehicle imports have reduced daily spending on vehicle imports from an average of US$ 5.27 million to US$ 3.9 million, Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Anil Jayantha Fernando told Parliament yesterday (12).
He said vehicle imports had at one stage surged to US$ 6.8 million per day as public fears over potential restrictions prompted increased demand, placing additional pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Addressing Parliament, the Deputy Minister said the ongoing conflict in the Middle East had affected Sri Lanka’s economy in multiple ways, particularly through rising fuel-related pressures and their impact on the exchange rate.
“The shock from the Middle East conflict has entered our economy in various ways. As a country, we need to collectively respond to it. The main challenge we faced was related to fuel. We hope the situation will ease soon,” he said.
However, he warned that if the crisis continued or escalated further, authorities would need to pay closer attention to managing its economic impact.
He noted that pressure on the US dollar had contributed to rising prices of imported goods, adding that while such crises often stabilise over time, the Government had already implemented several strategies to mitigate the impact.
According to Fernando, vehicle imports were among the key factors driving up import expenditure, alongside fuel imports. While fuel imports could not be significantly curtailed, the Government had sought public cooperation to reduce non-essential vehicle imports.
“We requested the public to limit personal vehicle imports as much as possible and introduced a mechanism to manage the situation. We can now see that these measures are beginning to produce results,” he said.
Fernando said that as economic activity expanded in 2025, Sri Lanka had been spending an average of US$ 5.27 million per day on vehicle imports. During the recent period of uncertainty, however, daily spending rose sharply to US$ 6.8 million as importers rushed to bring in vehicles.
He said that following the Government’s intervention, total expenditure on vehicle imports amounted to US$ 31.72 million during the first eight working days up to 10 June, excluding holidays, translating to approximately US$ 3.9 million per day.
“This shows that vehicle imports have fallen to a level even lower than we initially expected,” he added.
