According to the export potential map (2022) of the International Trade Centre (ITC), Sri Lanka has a higher potential for exporting agricultural products to different countries. But Sri Lanka can’t export at its full potential, and there is a considerable gap between the potential exports of the country and the actual exports of the country. Fruits and vegetables have 136 US million and 12 US million of untapped potential, respectively.

The main reasons for this untapped agricultural export market in the country are tariff and non-tariff measures.

Non-tariff measures (NTMs) are commonly characterized as policy actions other than normal customs tariffs that can affect international trade in products by changing quantities traded, prices, or both. Non-tariff measures are a set of standards and regulations that are necessary to protect consumers, the environment, animals, and plants. To accomplish this objective, conformity assessment processes such as inspecting, testing, and certifying are carried out for both imports and exports locally or internationally before accessing a foreign market.

Sri Lanka has faced several NTM-related challenges both domestically and while dealing with overseas markets. Given the negative effects of NTMs, the Sri Lankan government intends to review the current structure of export standards and regulations and assist in creating an enabling environment for trade, as well as enter into regional cooperation arrangements to mitigate the trade-restrictive effects of NTMs on Sri Lankan exports.

Within this backdrop, the major objectives of this study are to document rejections of Mango exports in Sri Lanka; analyze incidences like coverage ratio, frequency ratio, and prevalence ratio affecting Mango exports in Sri Lanka; and to measure the effect of NTM’s affecting on Mango exports in Sri Lanka using gravity model approaches