Programme to control essential food prices

A systematic programme will be drawn up by the Trade and Consumer Services Ministry to control prices of essential food items during the coming festive season and prevent unscrupulous traders from artificially jacking up prices.

This follows a directive issued by President Mahinda Rajapaksa when he presided over a meeting of the Cabinet Subcommittee on Food Security and Cost of living Management at Temple Trees.

A Presidential Media Unit release said solutions to problems that may crop up during the next two months concurrent to the Christmas and New Year festive season were discussed at length during this meeting.

Trade, Marketing Development, Co-Operatives and Consumer Services Minister Bandula Gunawardena told the meeting that in the event of another undue increase in the prices of rice by traders his Ministry would take immediate measures to stabilise prices by releasing Paddy Marketing Board and imported rice buffer stocks to the market.

He said there was a possibility of providing further concessions to consumers by reducing gas prices by December.

Steps taken to create an agricultural data and information network to increase productivity in the agricultural sector were also discrossed and the President ordered that quick steps be taken to commission this network.

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka, Ministers, D. M. Jayaratne, Hemakumara Nanayakkara, Felix Perera, C. B. Ratnayake, John Seneviratne and A. H. M. Fowzie, Presidential Senior Advisor Basil Rajapaksa, MP, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabral and Secretaries of Ministries attended the meeting.