Bread at lower prices
 

by Bharatha Malawaraarachchi and Ranil Wijayapala

The Government will take immediate steps to give the benefit of the reduced flour price in the market directly to consumers by reducing the price of bread, Trade Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle told Parliament yesterday.

The Minister said the Government could reduce the flour price from Rs.32.50 to Rs.19.50 due to the ending of the monopoly entertained by the Prima company.

Replying to a question by MP Ravi Karunanayake, at the oral question session the Minister said the Government would be able to save Rs.6,000 million as a result of ending the monopoly.

He said 90 per cent of the flour imported to the country is used for bread. "The benefit of the reduced flour price does not go directly to the consumers. The present bread price is based on the earlier flour prices," the Minister added.

He said the Government is determined to reduce the prices of other essential food items too in the future in the same manner it reduced the price of flour.

He said the Government had to import rice through the Corporative Wholesale Establishment and the State Trading Corporation to control the increasing price of rice at the end of last year.

"As a responsible Government we had to import rice during that period to control the rice prices in the market even incurring losses for the CWE and the STC," the Minister added.

He said the CWE had to sell imported rice at a lower price competing with the rice stocks available in the local market supplied by local producers by January this year.

"Therefore, the CWE and the STC had to incur losses of Rs.27.5 million and Rs.3.49 million respectively."