COLOMBO: Sri Lankan exporters are optimistic about growth in exports, despite increases in global freight and shipping costs, local media citing a survey reported here Friday.

According to data from the bi-annual Export Barometer Survey by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 48 percent of respondents expected moderate to high growth in exports, while 45 percent expected a moderate to high increase in capacity utilization in the next six months.

However, 84 percent of survey respondents said that they experienced high air freight costs while 87 percent experienced high container shipping costs.

The main reasons given for these were a shortage of vessels and flights, and delays in goods clearance. About 75 percent of the respondents said that they had found new export opportunities, and were exploring new markets or products.

As many as 11 percent of the respondents were looking at new markets in the United States while 5 percent were looking at new markets in China.

The survey included 120 respondents, many hailing from Sri Lanka’s Western Province where export-oriented industries are concentrated.