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Milk powder shortage: Plans to re-export shipments shelved

02 Oct 2021

  • Milk power back in market this week: Importers
  • CBSL to release necessary forex to clear consignments
  • No decision reached yet on price increases
By Yoshitha Perera Importers of milk powder decided to halt plans to re-export stocks following the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s (CBSL) decision to release the required funds to clear milk powder consignments stranded at the Colombo Port, The Sunday Morning learnt. Accordingly, stocks are to be released to the market this week. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Milk Powder Importers’ Association (MPIA) Member Lakshman Weerasuriya said the CBSL had agreed last Friday (1) to release the necessary funds to three private banks that were handling the transactions of milk powder importers. The MPIA last Thursday (30 September) claimed that they were planning to re-export the milk powder stocks to Indonesia and Bangladesh, as the local banks had not issued US dollars to release the consignments that were stranded at the Colombo Port. The importers claimed they considered taking such a step since there was a risk of the milk powder expiring. “Now there is no necessity to re-export the consignments. We are planning to release the milk power to the local market by Tuesday (5),” Weerasuriya said. Responding to a query on the prices of the products, he said there was no decision on a possible price increase of milk powder, but called on the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) to take immediate action to find a solution regarding pricing. “There is a sharp price increase in milk powder prices in the world market. The dollar shortage in the country also affected imports. So, we must take a decision about the price increase in the near future,” he said. He further pointed out that due to the prevailing foreign currency shortage, the banks were slow to open Letters of Credit (LCs), which had further complicated their trade.


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