UN General Assembly
1971

26. The problems and difficulties that have afflicted Ceylon's economy for the past 15 years or more persist, with no signs of alleviation or improvement. The prices of our exports have continued to show a remorseless and sharp decline. A 1971 report of the World Bank, commenting on the current economic situation in Ceylon, points out that, through price declines of its major export products alone, Ceylon lost roughly $U.S. 680 million in exchange earnings in the 1960s. Our total export earnings in 1970 were lower than the export earnings in any year between 1954 and 1968. In 1970 our earnings from our three major exports were only 4 per cent higher than the earnings in 1950. The most striking example of the failure of increased productivity and increased export volume to produce commensurate rewards in the form of higher export earnings is provided by our principal export, tea. Between 1947 and 1970, although the volume of our tea exports rose by 60 per cent, our total earnings from tea exports increased by only 10 per cent.