Foreign revenue by migrant workers : SL records decline of $ 1 b so far

By Skandha Gunasekara  

The country was expected to lose over $ 1 billion in foreign revenue due to the loss of jobs by Sri Lankan migrant workers since the Covid-19 outbreak affected their employment. 

Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) Deputy General Manager and Media Spokesman R.K.K.M.P. Randeniya said that a loss of $ 1 billion had been calculated two weeks ago.  

“We were earning an estimated $ 7.8 billion in foreign remittance from migrant workers prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Now, that amount has reduced to $ 6.7 billion, as of two weeks ago. We will be recalculating the loss this coming week.” 

He also noted that around 20,000 migrant workers had lost their jobs.  

“We believe around 20,000-22,000 migrant workers have lost their jobs in the Middle East and East Asia,” he added.