Challenges and Opportunities for Sri Lankan Exporters in the German Market: A Specific Reference to the Electrical and Electronic Sector

Foreign missions have been the pillars of trade promotion and in particular, of export and export-oriented investment. In Sri Lanka, the potential for export promotion to Germany is immense. However, it is discernible that there has been no coordinated effort by foreign missions to promote trade with Sri Lanka. At present, Sri Lanka maintains 52 High Commissions/Embassies overseas. In Sri Lanka, the Electrical and Electronic (EE) sector is one of the emerging sectors supported by the National Export Strategy (NES), and currently, the sector serves niche markets that have great potential to diversify in the area of Electrical and Electronic Components. The EE sector is also considered to have potential to stimulate innovation, research and development (R&D) and investment in Sri Lanka. Certain challenges are highlighted in the literature when promoting EEC as a major export of Sri Lanka. However, in this process of promoting exports in the EEC sector in the international market, foreign missions are recognized as the responsible stakeholder since they can facilitate the export process through diverse networks. Therefore, this research examines the challenges faced by Sri Lankan exporters when exporting to Germany, focusing especially on the Electrical and Electronic Sector. To achieve this research objective, a qualitative methodology was adopted as it permitted the researchers to understand human behaviour and thoughts to identify preferences in trade promotion activities. Primary data were collected through two main sources, namely, structured interviews and focus group discussions, while secondary sources such as international trade databases and trade maps were used to triangulate the data. The population of the study was Sri Lankan exporters and importers, trade support institutions and diplomats. In total, 14 semi-structured interviews were conducted using the convenience sampling method and snowball sampling. Analysis of data collected through semi-structured interviews (14) revealed that trade fairs and Business to Business meetings were vital opportunities to increase trade promotional activities of exporters. Major challenges faced by Sri Lanka exporters to the German market include the need for internalizing industries, limited recognition of Sri Lanka’s EEC sector locally and internationally, lack of business intelligence, lack of stakeholder communication, need to build strategic relationships and intergovernmental engagement. The study offers several recommendations to overcome trade barriers and to exploit the available opportunities in the host market.