The Trade Ministry is to issue a gazette notification next Monday (27) allowing for the importation of 10 essential food items through open accounts for two months.
Open account payments were banned earlier to curb unofficial transfers made through the Undiyal / Hawala settlement systems.
A Trade Ministry official said a decision was made to lift open account import restrictions for 10 essential food items following discussions chaired by the Prime Minister's Office between officials from the Ministry, the Central Bank and importers.
Chilis, potatoes, onions, rice, dhal and wheat flour are among essential food items which permission will be given to import through open account payments.
Cabinet has already approved the proposal to allow for the limited lifting of the restrictions, the official said.
A Sri Lankan man was apprehended at Suvarnabhumi airport for attempting to smuggle wildlife out of the country after three ball pythons were found hidden in his underwear, the Bangkok post reported.
The UK government has unveiled a package of reforms to simplify imports from developing countries which allows for more garments manufactured in Sri Lanka to enter the UK tariff-free.
Read these and more on tomorrow’s edition of the Sunday Times
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