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Sizzling
hot cost of living squeezing people dry The government's decision to permit a gas price increase has forced eating-houses to revise its prices. The Bakers' Association said they were working out a price increase on bakery products. "We are thinking of ways and means to break even as a result of the recent price increase of diesel and gas”, spokesman for the Bakers" Association Parakrama Disanayaka said. "We are reluctant to increase the prices overnight as we do not want to burden the consumers by another sudden price increase", he said The Ceylon Fisheries Corporation too is considering a price increase. "Although we make wholesale purchases of fuel we have to bear the price increase to some extent. So we have to look into the possibility of increasing the price though not immediately". A spokesperson for the CFC told The Sunday Times. Cab services have also increased its hire charge. The average rate of Rs. 38 per km has gone up to Rs. 42. "We mostly use petrol and gas. The government has increased petrol prices twice. First we increased the hire charge by Rs.2. Now we have increased it by Rs. 4., Kanchana Fonseka of ACE Cabs told The Sunday Times. The fuel price increase has impacted on the the garment industry too. " It is not only fuel and gas but the increased prices of furnace oil and polythene also affect us. We use furnace oil in the dyeing process. Earlier it was Rs. 1 but now it is 1.50. One metre of polythene has increased by Rs. 5. The increased price of diesel also affects us since we have to use it on generators', a spokesperson for APS Garments told The Sunday Times. "We have not decided on a price increase yet. We hope to increase prices in three weeks' time”, the spokesperson said. Though trishaw drivers have increased their rates, they were not finding it all that easy to find hires, as people are now reluctant to travel in them. Food outlets have also increased prices of its products including those of lunch packets. The half quantity rice packet, which was sold at Rs. 35, is now Rs. 40 while the full rice packet sold at Rs. 40 is now sold at Rs. 45. The prices of short eats also have gone up by about Rs. 3. 'We have to bear the cost of transport as well as cooking. So we have to increase the prices', a hotel manager told The Sunday Times. The state transport sector is also affected by the price hikes but might have to delay bus fare increases until the budget proposals in November. 'We are unable to raise the fares because we come under the government. But this increase affects us very badly as the state transport sector already runs at a loss ", a spokesperson for the department told The Sunday Times. Lorry owners are also affected but with the increased competition they were facing difficulties in making any drastic increases. 'We cannot raise our hire charges drastically though the losses are high. While some of us raise our charges there are others who might operate at a lower rate", one of the lorry drivers in Pettah told The Sunday Times. Those who are hiring out vans for school and office transport have increased their charges. 'We had to increase the charges, because the running costs are so high but we are still unable to recover our losses", a van owner told The Sunday Times. The price of samba and kekulu raw red rice has increased compared to last week's prices. Last week the price of Samba rice was between Rs. 36 and Rs. 42, while this week the price was between Rs. 37 and Rs. 42. The price range of kekulu raw red rice last week was between Rs. 36 and Rs. 38 while this week it has risen to between Rs. 39 and Rs. 40. Rice prices are likely to increase further due to the increased transport charges. |
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