Chicken among items subject to price slash

Chamikara Weerasinghe

COLOMBO: The prices of essential commodities have been slashed from this month and the new rates will prevail without change throughout the year.

Prices of big onions, dhal, sardine, salt and chicken have been brought down with immediate effect under the Government’s programme to stabilise the prices of essential commodities, Trade Marketing Development Co-operatives and Consumer Services Minister Bandula Gunawardena announced yesterday at a media conference held at the Trade Ministry in Colombo.

Representatives of goods importers of Sri Lanka , including officials of the Pettah Importers and Wholesale Businessmen’s Association, Consumer Services Minister H.R. Mithrapala, Co-operative Minister Abdul Majid and Secretary of Trade and Consumer Services Ministry Dr. R.M.K. Ratnayaka were present.

Minister Gunawardena said President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Minister of Finance and Planning, had removed a series of duty levies such as Value Added Tax, Port and Airport Development Levy , Social Security Development Levy , Tax Surcharge and Cess in order to afford relief to the public.

“As a result of removing these taxes, the retail price of a kilo of big onions is now Rs 50 down from Rs.70 ,” he said. He said that the Trade and Consumer Services Ministry will also take steps to buy good quality onions from local onion farmers at a minimum rate of Rs.30 per kilo.

“The decision for this was taken at the Cost of Living Committee headed by Prime Minister Rathnasiri Wickramanayaka,” he said.

“This is the first time that onion farmers have been given such a high price ,” he added.

The minister said that he had visited onion farms in the Trincomalee , Batticaloa, Ampara and Matale districts last week and learnt that onion farmers received only Rs.15 to Rs.18 for a kilo of onions.

“Sathosa will purchase onions from Dambulla and Markfed will buy the produce in Anuradhapura. We are trying to ensure that there will be no talk in the future of Onion farmers in Dambulla committing suicide,” Minister Gunawardena said.

Accordingly, steps will be taken to increase the current levy imposed on onion imports from Rs. 5 at present to Rs.15 shortly . Referring to dhal prices, the Minister said that there was no way that Mysore dhal or red dhal could be imported at lesser prices and be sold below Rs.100.

“A tin of Sathosa salmon and Co-op fish sardine is sold at Rs.90.Private importers have publicised through advertisements that the maximum retail price of their canned fish items are Rs.100,” he pointed out. He said that a consumer can buy a tin of canned fish for Rs.85 at Pettah’s Fourth Cross Street.

Minister Gunawardena said that if one thinks salmon is not good enough they can buy chicken, for prices of chicken has been reduced by Rs. 45 .The Sathosa has reduced the price of a kilo of chicken from Rs. 285 in March( as priced on chicken packs) to Rs. 235. He said that the price of Sathosa chicken may be a little bit on the higher side even at the rate of Rs. 235 because it has to pay VAT whenever it buys chicken.

“The private companies may sell chicken at lesser prices than Sathosa,” he said. He said that consumers are enabled to buy standard iodine salt at Rs. 22 from Sathosa. UNICEF is providing aid to produce these salt packs. The other salt packs in the market are sold at Rs. 27.