Sri Lanka, July 10 -- There has been a dramatic improvement in the fiscal output outcome and in April the primary balance in one month is equivalent to 0.8% of GDP Economist Murtaza Jafferjee told the Sri Lanka-Australia-New Zealand Business Council 31st AGM held in Colombo on July 08.

He said that economic growth has to come on the back of productivity improvements and productivity improvements are predicated on competition and the country needs to increase competition in the economy and tradable sectors, and competition comes through trade. By reducing trade barriers, the domestic tradable economy can be exposed to more competition and invariably more competition creates efficiency.

Jafferjee said it is important to increase competiti...