At present, the prices of essential consumer goods are skyrocketing due to the Ministry of Trade withdrawing from setting maximum prices for those goods as they have signed an agreement with several wholesalers.
The Ministry of Trade and the wholesale suppliers agreed to maintain a fixed price for 28 items valid for three months in early February. The agreement expired in April, after which wholesalers began to set their own prices.
This is very clearly confirmed by the gazette notification of the maximum retail price for sugar on November 10, 2020. The import duty on sugar was reduced from Rs. 50 to 25 cents per kilo and the maximum retail price per kilo was gazetted as Rs. 90.
However, the consumer did not get sugar at that price. Following the example of other wholesale suppliers, they are now arbitrarily raising the prices of all the essential consumer goods. The price of sugar alone has increased by Rs. 70 in a week, and now the retail price is around Rs. 220.
In addition, the price of a kilo of red dhal has exceeded Rs. 250. imported potatoes is Rs 240, and a kilo of red onion is Rs. 400. The prices of all other essential commodities are rising daily in parallel with these commodities.
Interestingly, the State Minister of Consumer Affairs Lasantha Alagiyawanna has told the media that there is no way to control this situation.<\/p>\n