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| Friday, 18 July 2003 |
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As the country is experiencing a bountiful vegetable harvest these days and with stocks coming from all vegetable growing areas to the market, vegetable prices in the metropolitan areas have fallen during the last few days, recording the all-time lowest in the last three years at Colombo's main markets, the Commerce Ministry said yesterday. The prices of upcountry and low country vegetables at the Maligawatte vegetable centre as well as the Manning market, Delkanda public fair, Jathikapola, Wellawatte and other suburban markets has dropped sharply in the last few days where prices of some items such as green chillies, brinjals, cabbage and snake gourd, had come down to 50% compared with last year's figures and other items including ash plantain, capsicum, carrot, cucumber, pumpkin, beet root and beans had come down from 15% to 40%. According to the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, the prices drop in has resulted due to the commencement of the harvesting season in Matale, Diyathalawa, Bandarawela, Kandy, Melsiripura, Marassana and Hanguranketha areas. Meanwhile, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake said that the vegetable price reduction was a compliment to the consumer but emphasised the importance of preventing a possible price erosion, which would be detrimental in the long run. The Sri Lanka Consumer Price Index also fell during the past three months and is expected to go down further due to the drop in vegetable prices. Karunanayake said that his Ministry will coordinate with the Agriculture and Rural Economy Ministries in seeking measures to establish vegetable prices at reasonable levels, which will be beneficial to the consumer and producer. The Government is keen on price stabilisation and not the mere price reduction as we have seen in other countries that vegetable prices are maintained at a steady and affordable rate throughout the year. Only such a move will be beneficial to the consumer in the long run, the Minister said. |
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