COLOMBO, Aug 22 (NNN-XINHUA) – Sri Lanka’s state-owned fuel distributor, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), hiked the price of kerosene, with effect from yesterday midnight, to cut losses.
Issuing a statement, the CPC said, the price of a litre of kerosene increased by 253 Sri Lankan rupees (0.7 U.S. dollar) to 340 rupees.
Kerosene is used among several vulnerable communities for cooking fire and was earlier sold at a subsidised rate of 87 rupees.
Last month, speaking in parliament, Minister of Power and Energy, Kanchana Wijesekera, said that, they planned to raise the price of kerosene and give a subsidy to low-income groups.
He said that the cost to produce a litre of kerosene is 421 rupees.
Selling kerosene at a subsidised rate is one of the main reasons why the CPC makes a loss, the minister said. (1 U.S. dollar equals 361 Sri Lankan rupees)– NNN-XINHUA
