Sri Lanka’s monthly remittances coming through official channels ranged between 500 to 600 million US dollars a month

The remittances in the first four months of 2023 also jumped 81 percent to 1,867.2 million US dollars compared to 1,031.5 million in the same period last year.

The remittances started to plunge from the fourth quarter of 2021 due the central bank’s policy to maintain the rupee around 200 per US dollar.

Many expatriates sent their earnings in foreign currency via informal channels like Hawala and Undiyal, resulting in a significant reduction in the remittances via formal channels.

The government has aimed at boosting the monthly remittances to an ambitious 1 billion US dollar