Eliminate anti-competitive practices - JAAF

Sri Lanka needs to adopt best practices and an integrated approach by all sectors to eliminate anti-competitive practices, JAAF and Asian Shipper’s Council Secretary General Rohan Masakorala told Daily News Business.

He said eliminating anti-competitive practices is extremely important.

“We welcome the move by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Government’s commitment to eliminate anti-competitive practices which was announced in the recent budget speech,” he said.

The free market concept and the liberalized environment in Sri Lanka will not be effective if anti-competitive practices are allowed.

The modern market economies need to introduce regulatory reforms and legislation to update laws in order to accommodate the changes in the business environment and the way business is done.

This will give protection to consumers, manufacturers and suppliers against monopolistic activity,” he said.

The need has been reflected more after the global economic crisis and Asia is the most vulnerable region as it is an emerging market and a major supply base for the whole world. Governments need to prevent loopholes in the legal framework to bring in strict monitoring mechanisms to eliminate such unfair practices.

Since liberalizing the economy in Sri Lanka in the late 1970s little attention had been given to reform existing laws in the trading environment.

As a result we have seen major problems in the supply chain in terms of anti-competitive activity and the apparel trade in Sri Lanka has been a victim of this.

“Manufacturers lose competitiveness and consumers will be compelled to pay higher prices for products and services if these are not kept in check by regulatory bodies, the JAAF Secretary General said.

SJ