The latest report released by the Department of Census and Statistics reveals that Sri Lanka’s fisheries sector, vegetable cultivation, and rubber plantations have faced notable setbacks during the second quarter of 2025.
The data, covering the period from April 1 to June 30, indicates that while agriculture, industry, and services all recorded positive growth, several sub-sectors performed poorly.
According to the national accounts estimates, vegetable cultivation reported a negative growth rate of 3.6%, marine fisheries contracted by 5.2%, inland fisheries suffered a sharp decline of 34.8%, and rubber plantations recorded a negative growth of 10.8%.
The Department of Rubber Development attributed the downturn to the natural leaf-shedding period in March–April, followed by excessive rainfall during May–June, which disrupted production.
In contrast, overall agricultural activities grew by 2%, industrial activities by 5.8%, and services by 3.9% in the second quarter.
Data under the production approach also showed significant positive growth in paddy cultivation, grains, sugarcane, fruits, and spices. Tea, Sri Lanka’s leading foreign exchange earner, recorded a growth of 6% during the quarter.
The livestock sector, which includes meat production, dairy, and eggs, demonstrated strong performance, with an impressive 13.9% growth compared to the second quarter of 2024.
