Sri Lanka’s daily vehicle import bill has fallen to about US$3.9 million in early June, below the level the Finance Ministry had initially expected after the post-IMF lifting of restrictions, Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando told Parliament on Friday, Ada Derana reported.
Fernando said vehicle imports had averaged US$5.27 million per day under normal 2025 conditions but had surged at one stage to US$6.8 million per day, as buyers rushed orders amid public uncertainty about the economic outlook. During the first eight working days of June, excluding public holidays, the country spent US$31.72 million on vehicle imports — an average of US$3.9 million a day. “This demonstrates that vehicle imports have fallen to a level even lower than what we initially expected,” he said.
The Deputy Minister attributed the slowdown to a mix of public appeals to limit purchases and administrative measures to control the inflow of vehicles. He said the ongoing conflict in the Middle East had created economic shocks affecting Sri Lanka through higher fuel prices and pressure on the foreign exchange market, and the government would have to manage those impacts closely if the crisis escalated further.
The early-June reading reverses the earlier 2026 trajectory. Vehicle imports had hit US$2.04 billion in 2025 — the third-highest annual bill in Sri Lankan history — and the Central Bank reported a 900% year-on-year surge in the first quarter of 2026 as restrictions were unwound. The Finance Ministry had since added a 50% customs surcharge for three months and warned of further policy measures if the dollar drain continued, but Customs Director-General Asela Punchihewa told Parliament earlier this week that vehicle imports had not declined yet. Friday’s $3.9 million-a-day reading is the first official confirmation that the surcharge and public-information campaign have begun translating into lower daily clearance values, though the ministry has not published full-month June projections.
