Sri Lankan exports to the Maldives dropped by 29 percent in 2020, in comparison to a year earlier, as the latter’s tourism-driven economy collapsed as travel restrictions hit the global travel industry. 

A report in Economynext said the overall import to the Maldives plunged by around 36 percent to $1.8 billion in 2020 against $2.88 billion in 2019. Sri Lanka is the fourth biggest importer for the Maldives.

Fitch Ratings had also downgraded the country’s credit to “CCC” last year as its revenue fell significantly and public debt kept soaring. Fitch forecasted the economy to contract 30 percent in 2020.

The International Monetary Funds (IMF), and several other lenders, have long been putting pressure on the country’s regulators to open its domestic markets for more financial stability- a move the Maldives has been avoiding fearing foreign goods could overwhelm its small domestic market. 

Fitch forecasted the economy to contract 30 percent in 2020 as tourism collapsed with the economy contracting 51 percent in the second quarter of 2020. It predicted the Maldives to grow by around 16 percent amid the promising recovery in the global travel industry.