Unprepared Sri Lanka on brink of food security crisis over US tariffs
With the possibility of a global economic recession looming as the US tariff hits economies around the world, Sri Lanka is no better as some predict it would affect key industries and lead to a food security crisis as well.
Major food exporting nations are likely to want to take care of their own economies and the possibility that restrictions will be placed on food exports will hit Sri Lanka, Senior Prof. Buddhi Marambe told The Sunday Times Business.
He explained that local exports to the US are likely to lose market competitiveness and as a result export earnings will be drastically impacted.
In addition to the restrictions will be the imposition of higher tariffs by other nations as a global crisis sets in and the reverse order of globalisation is likely to take place.
Sri Lanka at present is striving hard in achieving food security in producing essentials but now there will be an additional pressure.
This year’s Maha season is set to record the lowest yields since 2019 excluding 2022 resulting in the government being compelled to import rice stocks, Prof. Marambe said.
He pointed out that during the Yala season this year the farmers will need to maximise the yields. “We will have to import rice amounting to approximately 330, 000 MT – 350,000 MT this year,” he explained.
These imports need to be carried out in a scattered manner in a bid to ensure that stocks are brought in as and when required over a time period ideally in May/June, September/October and December, he noted.
In the meantime, he said as think tanks, the universities together with other private sector and state institutions will be coming up with some recommendations around which the government can work on some of which will include looking at producing the maize requirement within the country. It was pointed out that about 50 per cent of the requirement is currently imported.
A global recession is on the cards if the US continues with its tariff policies and that will affect everyone, he noted adding that at the moment “Sri Lanka is not prepared but we need to be ready,” Prof. Marambe opined.
Sri Lanka imports animal feed from the US with soybean meal making up a large portion of the animal feed imported. Animal feed, particularly soybean meal and maize, forms the animal feed imports for Sri Lanka. This is primarily imported from Vietnam, India, Thailand, Malaysia and the US.
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