(Image source from: udayavani.comv)

The retail price of the cooking gas in Sri Lanka saw a huge rise and the price increased by 90 percent after the government of Sri Lanka announced that the price control for the essential commodities cannot be controlled by them. The price of a domestic cooking gas cylinder of 12.5 kg was costing Rs 1400 on Friday. It is now sold for Rs 2657 and the jump was upto Rs 1257. A kilo milk was priced at Rs 250 and it is now sold at Rs 1195. The prices of other essential commodities like sugar, wheat flour and others have seen a huge rise in recent days. The record increase in the prices now triggered public outrage. Social media is filled with posts against the government.

The official spokesperson of the Consumer Protection Authority issued a statement saying "The Cabinet decided to lift price controls for milk powder, wheat flour, sugar and liquified petroleum gas hoping it would increase supplies. The prices could go up by as much as 37 percent across but we hope dealers will not make unconscionable profits". A cabinet meeting was chaired by the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to control the prices. After the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, the government introduced import controls and this led to the shortage of the essential goods and saw a substantial rise in the prices of all the basic essentials in the country.

The importers of milk powder said that they were unable to clear the shipments as there was scarcity of the US dollar. In September, the government of Sri Lanka passed emergency regulations for controlling the prices of all the essential commodities. The foreign reserves of Sri Lanka fell down to 2.8 billion USD in July this year.

By Siva Kumar