Prices come down

by L. S. Ananda WEDAARACHCHI

The prices of most of the essential food items have decreased during the last few months.

The latest prices of food commodities published by the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI) show that rice, onion, potato, pulses, vegetables and coconut prices have declined due to sufficient supply of local agriculture produce to the market as a result of the progress of the national food production drive while dried fish price has marginally fluctuated, prices of major fruit varieties, fresh fish, beet and mutton have increased.

The prices of both broiler and curry chicken have not changed, HARTI announced. The Director of HARTI, V. K. Nanayakkara said that the prices of rice, vegetables, and pulses show a declining trend during the first three months of every year due to the harvesting of Maha crop season. A researcher of HARTI said that there was a tendency few years ago to neglect paddy cultivation by the farmers due to insufficient income from paddy cultivation. That unfortunate situation was totally reversed by the timely steps taken by the present government such as subsidized fertiliser for farmers, higher prices for paddy with the incentives given to farmers in the national food production drive.