News
Food rationing on the cards to ensure fair prices
A rationing system is being mooted by the Government for essential food stuffs to arrest the skyrocketing prices.
Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena is to propose to the Cabinet a rationing system for sugar and essential items sold via Lanka Sathosa outlets to provide items at lower than the market prices that have risen sharply in recent months.
The private sector will continue in its present form.
The proposal, once approved by the Cabinet will be implemented while a decision is made on the quantity to be rationed and the prices which will be lower than the current market prices, Mr Gunawardena told the Sunday Times.
The proposal will be submitted at next week’s Cabinet meeting which has been scheduled to take place via Zoom.
The move came as prices soared with a kilo of sugar selling at Rs. 240 and dhal Rs. 245 a kilogram while the prices of several other essential items too have shot up in the market.
In the absence of a price control on the items such as sugar and dhal, the prices have been showing a rapid increase over the past two weeks.
Mr Gunawardena said another proposal to be submitted to the Cabinet was to provide sugar, dhal and other essentials only for low income groups at a controlled price.
He said the fluctuating foreign exchange rates, an increase of container handling and shipping charges and the shortage in supply compared to the demand were contributing towards the increase of prices.
Mr Gunawardena said a standby arrangement with India had been put in place to import 100,000 mt of rice varieties such as Nadu, Kekulu an Ponni Samba in the event of an attempt by traders to increase prices.
He said so far the prices had been kept under control at less than Rs 100 a kilogram for the commonly used varieties including Kekulu and Nadu.
To reduce the Basmathi prices in the market, 6,000kg of Basmathi would be imported from Pakistan in the next three weeks, he said.
| Lanka seeks fuel on credit from UAE Sri Lanka is seeking the help of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to buy crude oil and petroleum products on a long-term credit basis to save foreign exchange so that the money could be used for the purchase of essential food items, Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila told the Sunday Times. The Minister said he held talks with the UAE’s Acting Ambassador, Saif Al Nuaimi, on Monday in Colombo and the Government hoped to save up to US$ 2 billion through this process where credit would be sought for six months. | |