Sharp drop in prices of rice and vegetables:
Adequate stocks of essential food items for festive season
by L.S. Ananda Wedaarachchi
Adequate stocks of essential food items are freely available in the
country for the festive season.
A sharp drop in the prices of rice and vegetables was also reported
due to the increased supplies sent to Dedicated Economic Centres (DECs)
and the Colombo market from agricultural districts, said Cooperatives
and Internal Trade Secretary Sunil Sirisena.
All essential items including sugar, onions, dhal, potatoes, dried
chillies and dried fish were imported by private and public sector
organisations on the instructions of the Food Security Council chaired
by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, he said.
The Consumer Affairs Authority has been instructed to nab errant
traders who violate the Price Control Act, the Secretary said.
Chicken and eggs are also freely available in the market due to the
action taken by Cooperatives and Trade Minister Johnston Fernando. The
wholesale and retail prices of chicken had dropped to Rs. 300-Rs. 325.
Samba and other varieties of rice are available in the market even
cheaper than the controlled prices, the Secretary said.
Lanka Sathosa Chairman Nalin Fernando said that uninterrupted
supplies are being made round the clock to ‘Lanka Sathosa’ branches to
meet the increased customer demand at Lanka Sathosa supermarkets during
the festive season.
“The Lanka Sathosa supermarket chain which has 250 branches
islandwide is the biggest supermarket in the island. Our objective is to
provide high quality essential food and other consumer items at
reasonable prices”, he said.
Comparatively, the prices of rice, sugar, dried fish, dried chillies,
dhal, potatoes and sprats at Lak Sathosa outlets are the lowest in the
market.
“We maintain the same price for a product at each and every Lanka
Sathosa branch in the metropolis and the outstations”, he said.
The fish, chicken and vegetable counters opened recently at Lanka
Sathosa outlets are extremely popular.
Fresh vegetables are transported to Lanka Sathosa supermarkets in
Colombo, Kalutara and Gampaha daily for the convenience of customers and
to control vegetable prices in the open market, he said.
Lanka Sathosa supermarkets will be kept open on Wednesday despite it
being a government holiday for the convenience of customers, he said.
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