New CCPI index survey

Covers more families, new items:

Lakshmi de Silva

The Colombo Consumer Price Index which was based on standard of living in 1952 changed to a new index in 2002 after 50 years. But it came into effect only from May 2008.

Accordingly a family needed Rs. 17,996 monthly which was 88 times higher than in 1952.

The basket of goods that could be bought with Rs. 202 then now costs Rs. 17,996, Government Revenue Minister and Deputy Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said. Yet the number of essential consumer items taken to calculate the Colombo Consumer Index in 1952 and the number of families were fewer than the items taken in the year 2002. Also the number of families surveyed during 1952 was only 455 while the number of families surveyed increased to 1,300 in 2002.

In 1952 it was only the people in the Colombo city limits that were taken into account but in 2002 research was done in Sri Jayawardhanapura, Dehiwala- Mt. Lavinia, Moratuwa, Municipal council areas, and Boralesgamuwa, Kolonnawa, Seethawakapura and Maharagama Town Council areas in addition to the Colombo Municipality limits, he said.

Also the items that were taken to account were changed in many ways. The Mahinda Chinthana, Mathata Thitha policy was taken into account and liquor and cigarettes and betel were omitted from the list of goods. Also, some new consumer goods like chicken, meat balls and sausages, were added to the list while other items like the LP gas,water and electricity bills , medical expenses, travelling expenses, educational expenses and even cosmetics used by women have been added to the new list of consumer items, Siyambalapitiya said.

Accordingly 46.7 percent of the increase of a family was spent on food and the balance 53.3 was spent on non-food items and services that include even telephone bills.

Under the 1952 index there were 5.8 persons on an average per family, in 2002 it was reduced to 4.5 persons, he noted.