What parcel sizes suit Colombo?

Drummed lots by the container for importers and emulsion plants, and bulk parcels of roughly 2,000 to 5,000 tonnes for receivers with heated storage.

Which grades does Sri Lanka use?

Penetration 60/70 and 80/100 for road works; emulsions and cutbacks are manufactured locally from imported base bitumen.

Does CBIL quote without a named buyer?

No. We quote for a named buyer, to Colombo, on a stated basis. A requirement that carries those three things gets a priced offer.

Can CBIL arrange the ship for a bulk parcel?

Yes. LaycanDesk, our chartering desk, prices bitumen tankers and small-parcel freight into Colombo.

Indian Ocean · Sri Lanka

Bitumen Supplier, Sri Lanka

Sixty thousand tonnes a year, in drums and small bulk parcels

Sri Lanka declared 62,819 tonnes of bitumen imports in 2025 at a declared CIF value of about USD 508 per tonne, with the UAE supplying 23,094 tonnes (37 per cent). In 2024 the same market took 64,671 tonnes, of which the UAE supplied 31,296 tonnes (48 per cent) at about USD 398. The landed value rose by about a quarter in a year, and the parcels stayed sized for Colombo's drum importers and the handful of bulk receivers.

CBIL brokers penetration 60/70 and 80/100 into Colombo in new 180 kg steel drums, jumbo bags and small bulk parcels, on CFR or CIF terms with inspection at filling and the refinery named on the certificate of origin. Sri Lankan buyers range from the importers who supply the road-development programme to emulsion and cutback manufacturers who need base bitumen, and their parcel sizes suit both drummed containers and 2,000 to 5,000 tonne bulk lots. We work from a named buyer's grade, quantity, basis and timing, and we quote only against those.

Need the ship as well? Our chartering desk prices bitumen tanker and drummed bitumen freight on LaycanDesk.

The market in figures

Sri Lanka imports, 2025: 62,819 t
UAE share, 2025: 37% (23,094 t)
Declared CIF, 2025: about USD 508 per tonne
2024 for comparison: 64,671 t; UAE 48% at about USD 398
Form: 180 kg drums, jumbo bags, small bulk parcels

Landed values are the importing country's declared CIF, not CBIL prices.

Questions buyers ask

What parcel sizes suit Colombo?: Drummed lots by the container for importers and emulsion plants, and bulk parcels of roughly 2,000 to 5,000 tonnes for receivers with heated storage.
Which grades does Sri Lanka use?: Penetration 60/70 and 80/100 for road works; emulsions and cutbacks are manufactured locally from imported base bitumen.
Does CBIL quote without a named buyer?: No. We quote for a named buyer, to Colombo, on a stated basis. A requirement that carries those three things gets a priced offer.
Can CBIL arrange the ship for a bulk parcel?: Yes. LaycanDesk, our chartering desk, prices bitumen tankers and small-parcel freight into Colombo.