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Fixed prices on tea and hoppers: Too bitter a pill to swallow- traders
View(s):The recent decision by the Government to impose fixed prices for a cup of tea and hoppers has not gone down well with traders, with some up-
Whether it’s a small boutique (above) or upmarket cafe (below right) all have to sell a hpper and a cuppa at the fixed price.Pic by Amila Gamage
market cafes opting to ignore the regulation, and smaller boutiques deciding not to sell these items at all.
Authorities have warned that the rule would be strictly enforced.
“The prices of tea and hoppers were reduced because of the price reduction of gas, sugar, milk powder, electricity and kerosene oil. I understand that a cup of milk tea can be sold for Rs. 25 and a plain hopper at Rs.10” Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) Chairman Rumy Marzook told the Sunday Times.
He said shop owners could still make a profit of Rs 4 by selling a cup of plain tea for Rs. 10 and a profit of Rs. 6 by selling cup of milk tea for Rs 25. “Prices were brought down drastically in the last budget hence the public should get the benefit of these reductions,” he added.
Mohamed Rinas, an eatery owner in Colombo
The Sunday times spoke to a cross section of shop owners and unions to obtain their views on the price reduction and the practicality of imposing price controls.
The All-Island Canteen Owners’ Association said they would take a collective decision on reducing the price of several goods.
“We are working on a mechanism to decide on the prices of food items sold at canteens,” the organisation’s convener Asela Sampath said.
At New Hotel de Iman in the vicinity of Town Hall, hoppers were being sold at the fixed price. The hoppers were made from rice flour hence the cost was less, we were told.
Kamantha Perera General Manager of Taste of Asia at World Trade Centre in Colombo. Pix by Athula Devapriya
“We have been selling according to the fixed price list from the day it was announced. Earlier we used to sell a cup of milk tea for Rs 35, now we lose Rs 10 for a cup,” Mohamed Rinas, an eatery owner in Colombo said.
Meanwhile Food security Minister Gamini Jayawickrama Perera said the prices of the items can be reduced considering that the price of milk powder and sugar have come down. He warned that action would be taken against 
proprietors who failed to comply with the rule.
“How can we sell a cup tea at Rs. 25 and cover the monthly payment for the building which is around Rs. 700,000 and pay our employees ? But if the law is mandatory we have to follow it. We might even stop selling tea in that case,” Kamantha Perera General Manager of Taste of Asia at World Trade Centre in Colombo said.
A G Weerasinghe, a consumer said the price control on hoppers was not practical and realistic as there were so many suppliers, mainly small-time businesses and the quality of hoppers varied in the market.
“After the price control came into effect some sellers have reduced the size of the hopper and also withdrawn the free Katta Sambol on offer,” he complained.
M.Vipula, the owner of a tea kiosk in Colombo said he had stopped selling milk tea since the controlled price came into force.”It’s true certain items have been reduced in price but I have to still pay my employees, feed them and pay for electricity .The cost of these remain the same even though the price of milk and sugar have been reduced,” he said.