OriginShipping from China
Nine offices across every major port and manufacturing cluster, from Tianjin to Shenzhen.
Origins / Sri Lanka
Shipping from
Sri Lanka to the US.
Shipping from Sri Lanka with our own office and warehouse in Colombo, beside one of Asia’s busiest transshipment hubs.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a trusted source of premium apparel, rubber products and tea, with a strong culture of ethical compliance. It is also one of the few Asian origins that reaches the US East Coast faster than the West Coast.
Our Colombo office and warehouse have been on the ground since around 2020, with a focus on apparel and retail customers. The team manages orders, suppliers, bookings and consolidation at the source.
Colombo is South Asia’s leading transshipment hub, so sailings are frequent and equipment is easier to find. Shipping through Colombo doesn’t change origin, though: only goods made in Sri Lanka enter the US as Sri Lankan.
At a glance
Sri Lanka at a glance.
- [01] Our office
- Colombo
- [02] Local time
- --:--
- 10½ hours ahead of New York and 13½ ahead of Los Angeles on US standard time. One hour less while US daylight saving time is on.
- [03] Main seaport
- Colombo
- South Asia’s leading transshipment hub, with a record 8.29 million TEU in 2025.
- [04] Main air gateway
- Bandaranaike International (CMB)
- Air cargo connects via Middle East, European or Asian hubs.
- [05] Currency
- Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)
- [06] Business language
- Sinhala and Tamil
- English is widely used in business and on documents.
- [07] Biggest holiday
- Sinhala and Tamil New Year
- Mid-April, the main factory shutdown. Every full moon (Poya day) is also a public and bank holiday.
- [08] US goods imports, 2025
- $3.1 billion
- US Census Bureau.
Transit times
How long it takes.
Indicative port-to-port days on the water. Many East Coast sailings call Colombo as their last port before the US, while West Coast cargo usually relays via Asia. Suez or the Cape of Good Hope changes the East Coast time, so confirm the routing at booking.
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Colombo New York Often direct
23–31 days
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Colombo Charleston
29–38 days
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Colombo Los Angeles / Long Beach Via Singapore or China
39–57 days
Indicative port-to-port ranges from published carrier schedules. They shift with the season, the carrier and congestion, so ask us for current sailings on your lane.
What it makes
Apparel, rubber, tea and more.
Apparel leads by a distance, with rubber products, gems and tea behind it. Most export factories sit in the Western Province and the Board of Investment zones.
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[01] Western Province
Apparel
Activewear, intimates, swimwear and performance wear from export zones such as Katunayake and Biyagama, and Koggala in the south.
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[02] Western · Sabaragamuwa
Rubber gloves
Medical, industrial and household gloves from rubber clusters in the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces.
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[03] Western Province
Industrial tires
Solid tires for forklifts and material-handling equipment, plus molded rubber products, including around Horana.
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[04] Agri
Tea and spices
Tea, cinnamon and spices, packed and shipped through Colombo.
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[05] Agri
Coconut products
Desiccated coconut, coir and activated carbon made from coconut shell.
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[06]
Gems and jewelry
Gems and finished jewelry, a long-standing Sri Lankan specialty.
Know before you ship
What to plan for.
The rules and rhythms that catch importers out. Rates and rules change fast, so check the latest before you commit.
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[01] Preferences
GSP has lapsed
US GSP expired at the end of 2020 and has not been renewed, so Sri Lankan goods pay normal US duties. The EU’s GSP+ scheme only applies to exports to Europe.
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[02] Routing
Suez or the Cape
Some carriers sail through the Red Sea and Suez, while others still go around the Cape of Good Hope, which adds a week or more. Confirm the routing when you book.
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[03] Coasts
East beats West
Colombo reaches New York in about three to four and a half weeks, while the West Coast usually takes five and a half to eight weeks via Asia. For the Southeast and Northeast, the East Coast is often the better door.
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[04] Origin
Fabric traceability
Sri Lankan apparel relies on imported fabric and yarn, much of it from China and India. Keep cotton traceability records so forced-labor questions don’t hold up a shipment.
Our team in Sri Lanka
An office and a warehouse in Colombo.
Our Colombo team works closely with apparel and retail customers, following up with suppliers, booking space and consolidating cargo in our own warehouse. Being on the ground means quality issues and paperwork get solved before the cargo sails.
- Supplier follow-up
- Warehousing
- Consolidation
- Apparel and retail
Plan around the holidays
When Sri Lanka stops.
Sinhala and Tamil New Year in mid-April is the main shutdown, often for about a week, and every full moon brings a Poya day public and bank holiday, about twelve a year. Our factory closure calendar has the dates for the next ten years, with book-by dates.
[01]How long does shipping from Sri Lanka to the US take?
Colombo to New York typically takes about three and a half to five weeks port to port, and many sailings call Colombo as their last port before the US. West Coast ports usually take longer, about six to eight weeks, because cargo relays via Asia.
[02]Why is Colombo a good port for US shipments?
Colombo is South Asia’s leading transshipment hub, handling a record 8.29 million TEU in 2025. Frequent mainline sailings and deep-water terminals give Sri Lankan exporters strong vessel choice and competitive East Coast transit times.
[03]Does Sri Lanka still get GSP benefits in the US?
No. The US Generalized System of Preferences expired at the end of 2020 and Congress has not renewed it, so Sri Lankan goods pay normal US duties. The EU’s GSP+ program applies only to exports to Europe.
[04]What are Sri Lanka’s main exports to the US?
Apparel is by far the largest category, especially activewear, intimates and performance wear. It is followed by rubber products such as gloves and industrial tires, gems and jewelry, and tea and spices.
[05]Does OWL have a warehouse in Sri Lanka?
Yes. Our Colombo office has its own warehouse, used for consolidation and to keep quality and documentation under control before cargo sails. The team has been on the ground since around 2020.
More origins
Where else we source.
Origin
OriginShipping from Vietnam
Our own teams in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, for the fastest-growing origin for US importers.
OriginShipping from Thailand
Laem Chabang, Bangkok and the manufacturing corridor of the Eastern Seaboard.
OriginShipping from Cambodia
Apparel, footwear and travel goods, shipped through Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh.
OriginShipping from Laos
Landlocked, not locked out: rail, road and river routes to the sea from Vientiane.
OWL Vision
See every PO before it sails.
From the purchase order in Sri Lanka to your door: every container, PO and SKU on one live picture, with alerts before a delay reaches you.