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Prices
soar amidst flour war When elephants clash, it is the ants on the ground that get crushed. Similarly when the government and a transnational company clash, it is the people who are affected. As the flour war intensified, the government claimed it had imported flour from India, Argentina and Canada and was selling it at Rs. 24 at CWE outlets. In a countermove, the Prima company is said to have warned bakers that their permits for Prima flour would be cancelled if they purchased the government flour. W. Wasantha of Weerasiri Bakery said he did not want to lose his Prima permit because he could not rely on the government's assurance. "There is no guarantee that the Government will continue to import flour," he said adding that the bakers were free to increase the prices because there was no price control. Another baker said they enjoyed credit facilities when they bought Prima flour. "Co-operative stores which buy Prima flour are given large commissions. To earn big commissions, the cooperative stores buy large quantities of Prima flour and sell flour on credit basis," he said. A baker who did not want to be named said he doubted that the government could offer commissions to cooperatives and enable the bakers to buy flour on credit. Another small-time baker said the government had no proper distribution mechanism. "We have to buy flour from some specified outlets and we will be given only a limited amount. This might set off a price increase and a shortage of flour," he said. He also said he had his doubt about the quality of the cheap flour which the government had imported. Bakery Owners' Association president Parakrama Dasanayaka said they had presented their grievances to the government and would wait for two weeks before they took a decision on price increases. But people complain that they now pay more for bread which was Rs. 15 a loaf before the government stopped subsidy payments to Prima. Minister Fernandopulle said that a ruling on bread price would be announced if bakers increased the prices of bread arbitrarily. Allaying bakers fears, the minster said that flour was available in adequate quantities at CWE outlets at prices lower than Prima prices. Meanwhile, people are also complaining that the prices of other food items are also going up. Chicken which was sold at Rs. 165 a kilo a couple of months ago now fetches prices ranging from Rs. 175 to Rs. 245 a kilo. A spokesman for the Maxies chicken farm said the rise in prices was due to a surge in demand after the tsunami disaster with people showing a dislike to eat fish. But fish prices picked up after a successful campaign by health authorities and NGOs working for the welfare of fishermen to make people aware that eating fish was safe. Fishermen's Cooperative Society official M. Jayaweera said the demand for fish was on the rise but the supply was still inadequate. "We are repairing the damaged boats and fishermen are gradually returning to the sea. We find it difficult to meet the excessive demand," Mr. Jayaweera said. Vegetable prices have also gone up and traders attributed the rise to the off-season shortage. "This is not the season for vegetables, especially vegetables like capsicum. The best capsicums comes from Nuwara Eliya, but we are getting only a small quantity from there. The best quality carrots which are sold at Rs. 60-70 are also in short supply," Somasiri, a vegetable vendor at Nugegoda Janatha Pola said. |
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