The Government has stepped up measures to address rising coconut and rice prices, Trade, Commerce, Food Security, and Cooperative Development Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe told the Sunday Observer yesterday.
With the end of the heavy rains, coconuts are now flooding the market. To ensure affordability for consumers, the Government has arranged for their distribution through the State-owned Sathosa retail network which operates 443 outlets nationwide, said Minister Samarasinghe.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has directed officials of the Plantation Industries Ministry, the Coconut Development Authority (CDA), the Sri Lanka Coconut Cultivation Board (SLCCB), and other Government agencies to suspend the tender processes for coconut procurement for the time being to address the dual challenge of a coconut shortage and soaring prices. Instead, coconuts will be supplied to Sathosa at the previous tender rate of Rs. 110 per nut. Sathosa is selling coconuts at Rs. 130 each, whereas coconuts have been sold for Rs. 170 to Rs. 190 each by some private traders.
The move by the Government is intended to prevent unreasonable and unjustifiable price increases by coconut sellers and retail traders, Samarasinghe said. Freak weather patterns and destruction of nuts by wild animals have contributed to the current coconut shortage.
He said President Dissanayake yesterday also called on large-scale rice mill owners to stop inflating prices artificially through blackmarket practices.
“These mill owners, many of whom started their businesses with State bank loans, are now inconveniencing the public by creating artificial shortages,” Samarasinghe said.
The Government will ensure that rice is sold at controlled prices to counter these practices. Imported rice will arrive within two weeks and will be made available to consumers at the regulated prices, he added. The Customs has said that it can release the rice shipments from the Colombo Port in four hours. Sathosa and the State Trading Corporation (STC) have jointly ordered around 70,000 MT of rice (mainly the Nadu variety) to meet the current demand. Both organisations will expedite retail sales after the rice stocks are cleared.
He said, “We intend to stabilise the prices of essential and staple food items and prevent exploitative practices by mill owners and traders.” He said there will be no shortage of essentials during the festive season. Agricultural experts are expecting a good Maha season harvest next month, even though some paddy lands got inundated during the recent floods.
