COLOMBO, Jun 4 (NNN-XINHUA) – Sri Lankan President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, instructed officials to maintain adequate stocks of all essential food items, to prevent a shortage of goods, the president’s media division announced yesterday.
The president pointed out that, it could prevent the organised efforts of some businessmen, to increase prices by artificially creating a shortage of goods and acting on people’s fears.
He said, a portion of the agricultural products currently being sent to the wholesale market should be made available directly to grocery stores.
The president said, this would reduce the cost of transportation and enable consumers to purchase goods at lower prices and farmers to obtain higher prices.
Rajapaksa also instructed the Consumer Affairs Authority to take legal action, against those who take advantage of the prevailing situation and sell goods at unfair prices.
Sri Lanka has seen a rapid increase in food prices in recent months, due to lower yields after the country banned the use of chemical fertilisers in Apr, 2021.
The government recently lifted the ban on chemical fertiliser and said, it will import fresh fertiliser stocks for the coming farming season.– NNN-XINHUA
