New year sales drop, but traders optimistic

by Lalin Fernandopulle

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There was drop in textiles and commodity sales compared to last year though there were last minute shoppers in the city for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. The rise in prices of essential commodities affected sales of small and medium shop owners, said traders.

Traders said sales for the New Year were not satisfactory compared to the previous years. Shopping for the season reached a peak usually and people literally went to town to buy anything that caught their attention.

“Most shop owners cannot earn a decent income to meet their daily expenses and as a result many have given up business.

Today people find it difficult to make ends meet and they are reluctant to buy clothes, a textile shop owner at the World Market said.

S. Chamila who runs Gamini Textiles at the World Market said the textile industry cannot develop without encouraging the importation of raw materials. The import duty on raw materials should be lifted for the textile industry to survive, he said.

Wholesale traders at the Pettah Manning Market said that they cannot sell their stock of rice since prices are high.

Sales during the festive season had been good in previous years but this year due to the increase in prices the quantity of sales was very low.

The continuous rains during the past three months in most parts of the country adversely affected paddy storage. The Ministry of Trade and Consumer Services has ordered 50,000 mt of rice from Myanmar.

The price of a kilo of Samba rose to Rs. 100 from Rs.53 this year and other varieties range from Rs.70 to Rs. 90.

Traders said the sale of vegetables and fruits which is generally high during the New Year season has dropped due to high prices and that they were running at a loss. The price of beans, tomatoes, potatoes, big onions and chillies is also exorbitant, they said.

The Proprietor of Lanka Egg Centre, D. J. Madawala said egg sales during the festive season is high but this year it is not satisfactory.

The price of eggs has increased due to the rise in poultry food prices.

The damage is high due to the poor transportation system.

M. S. Chandrasena, a wholesale trader in Pettah said the demand for coconut oil which is high during the New Year is similar to any other item. The price of a kilogram of coconut oil is Rs. 320.