Flying squads on the prowla

Errant traders beware:

Flying squads will conduct raids to nab errant traders who jack up rice prices during the festive season.

The Consumer Affairs Ministry will keep a close tab on the sale of rice during the festive season and no vendor would be allowed to flout the regulated prices.

The Government will import a buffer stock of 10,000 metric tons of rice and maintain a constant check on the market to prevent unscrupulous traders from fleecing customers by artificially jacking up prices of Samba rice during the current festive season.

This follows a decision taken by the Food Security and Cost of Living Management Committee at a meeting chaired by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees yesterday. Measures to maintain prices of food items at a stable level during the festive season by ensuring adequate buffer stocks to prevent artificial scarcities were discussed at length during this meeting, a Presidential Media Unit release said.

It was pointed out at this meeting that with the rapid increase in the demand for food items during Christmas and New Year seasons, unscrupulous traders might resort to the usual practice of artificially increase prices through various rouses to make a fast buck.

The committee decided that to prevent such a situation a constant check should be maintained on the market by getting flying squads to conduct raids to nab errant traders flouting regulated prices.

The Committee observed that wheat flour imports had drastically reduced by 65 per cent this year in comparison to last years imports. This was attributed to the increase in local food production through the Api Wawamu Rata Nagamu development programme.

The Committee also decided that the Ministries of Agricultural Development and Consumer Affairs should workout a joint programme to conduct a close surveillance on the supply and demand for goods during the festive season and maintaining prices of goods at a proper level accordingly.

The Committee decided that a short and long term programme should be implemented immediately to protect both the farmers and the consumers during the festive season.