Dr. Bilesha Weeraratne analyses 2020 remittance incomes

31 October 2020

IPS Research Fellow and Head of Migration and Urbanisation research, Dr. Bilesha Weeraratne analysed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Sri Lanka’s remittances, appearing on News First’s English Prime Time Bulletin. She pointed out that there was a steep decline in remittances to Sri Lanka in March and April due to the lockdown and curfew imposed in countries of destination and in Sri Lanka, but starting picking up from May onwards with remittances hitting the USD 700 million mark in September. This could be explained by the backlog of remittances during lockdown, as well as a shift towards formal channels in view of the prevailing uncertainty.