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Clearing imports becomes difficult amidst shortage of dollars
More than 300 containers of essential items have been held up at the Colombo Port due to importers not meeting bank conditions on Letters of Credit (LC).
Director General of Customs Maj Gen (Retd) G V Ravipriya confirmed to the Sunday Times that there had been slow movement in clearing the consignments that had arrived at the Colombo Port. He said the reason for this was that importers had been slow in clearing the cargo owing to a shortage of foreign currency.
“We are doing our best to release containers carrying essential food items as early as possible,” Maj Gen (Retd) Ravipriya claimed.
Customs sources however, said that importers were bypassing Sri Lanka and sending their cargo to neighbouring countries owing to pending foreign currency issues.
Meanwhile, a leading importer in Colombo said they were facing severe difficulties in clearing essential items that have already arrived at the Colombo Port, as, unlike before, both State and private banks were not being flexible when extending credit facilities to importers. “Generally, we used to get a credit facility valid for at least three months, but we now have to pay the banks promptly,” he stressed.