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Emergency laws to control rising prices: No guarantee on price reductions?

11 Sep 2021

By Yumiko Perera Last week, Parliament passed regulations granting authorities the power to seize and confiscate food stocks from warehouses and vehicles used for storage and transportation. This was following President Gotabaya Rajapaksa promulgating emergency regulations in a bid to provide relief to the public during the prevailing pandemic situation in the country. Said regulations apply to the supply, selling at higher price, and hoarding of essential food items, including paddy, rice, and sugar. The move followed a sharp hike in the prices of some essential goods, and led to long queues forming outside stores due to shortages of milk powder, kerosene oil, and LP gas. The Sunday Morning reached out to several individuals for their perspectives on whether the emergency measures would help address the shortages in the market as well as control the price of these commodities.  Concessionary rates not a guarantee  Mario Wellalage, 20, undergraduate  Although these items are offered at concessionary rates, it doesn’t guarantee that every person would be able to receive these items. Long queues are seen at stores where these items are sold and this would just increase exposure to the virus and create new cases. With the lockdown in effect, many with access to online services would be able to secure these commodities at whatever price they are set at; however, what about those without? Is the government working on introducing ways for others to get these commodities?  -- Emergency measures won’t help, long-term plan needed Kalum W., 38, manager I don’t think the emergency measures would help maintain the prices, nor address the shortages in the market. I believe it requires a long-term plan backed by data and a robust mechanism that needs to be implemented without political interference.  This should include; a demand and supply forecast, alternative food sources identification and promotion, proper storage and distribution mechanisms, methods to avoid monopoly, etc.  Furthermore, minimising wastage, food miles, and intermediaries, along with data capturing mechanisms and a clear demarcation of responsible parties with required authority is needed. I also believe that professionals must be incorporated into the system, avoiding political appointees. -- Declared regulations not properly enforced Vomini Jayasinghe, 20, law undergraduate I don’t think the emergency declared on food items such as rice, sugar, and milk powder would be effective in addressing the shortages in the market because it's not properly enforced therefore there could be a black market created which sells these commodities at a higher price, above the price controls.  If the country doesn't efficiently abide by a lockdown, will there be a possibility that shop owners would also abide by these price controls?  -- Slapping a Band-Aid on a serious problem Jerome de Silva, 26, software engineer The emergency declared on food items like rice, sugar, and milk powder simply does not address the shortages in the market, and nor do I think it would help maintain the prices of these commodities, in fact, it may even cause more hoarding.  Instead of coming up with solid measures to ensure the prices of commodities would be controlled in the future, the emergency measures come off as slapping a Band-Aid on a problem that needs to be addressed differently. -- Could worsen the situation Sameera Rodrigo, 19, student I am aware of the emergency declared on food items; however, if anything, I feel that this would cause more people to hide the stocks of essential goods and sell them at a higher rate, especially when it comes to relatively smaller retail stores as it’s tough to implement regulatory measures on small-scale merchants that operate in the country. At the end of the day, the success of this move would depend on whether the Government manages to implement solid regulatory methods to keep track of the market prices. -- Not a guaranteed solution Malki Fernando, 18, student Even now, necessary items can’t be found in the market regardless of the lockdown. People are standing in queues, so I don’t think the emergency measures declared on food have been successful. Even if you order food online from supermarkets, most items are not available. So there is no guarantee that the move would be a solution to the shortages in the market.


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