brand logo

President orders speedy release of essentials held up at Customs

07 Feb 2022

  • Trade Ministry rejects food importers’ dollar request
Following multiple direct and public requests made by the Essential Food Commodities Importers’ and Traders’ Association (EFCITA) from the Government, President Gotabaya Ra,japaksa has instructed relevant officials to take immediate steps to release containers containing essential items held up at Sri Lanka Customs, the President’s Media Division (PMD) announced yesterday (7). President Rajapaksa issued these instructions with the aim of preventing any shortages in the market, at a special discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday with regard to the essential goods that are presently in the custody of the Customs, the press release said. The release added that President Rajapaksa also appointed a committee headed by Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa to ensure that there is no shortage of essential commodities, including food, during the upcoming festive season. It also said that President Rajapaksa stressed the importance of providing the people with the opportunity to purchase essential items including food without any shortage and instructed the officials to make plans for this immediately. In view of the upcoming festive season, the importers of essential food commodities had urgently requested the Government to release a certain amount of dollars every month so as to prevent a shortage of essential commodities. However, when contacted by The Morning yesterday prior to the PMD release, Trade Ministry Secretary Bhadranie Jayawardhana said that the Trade Ministry could not intervene in releasing $ 175-200 million, as requested by the EFCITA. Claiming that it is the importers’ duty to make the relevant imports, she said that the Trade Ministry would only intervene in fair issues. “All the importers don’t have this issue. Some importers make the imports using their own US dollars (USD). They open the letters of credit through commercial banks. When the imports are being made in that way, no issue arises. Also, we cannot intervene in releasing the amount of USD that they have requested. Especially, when the rice imports were allowed, the importers agreed to import rice by spending their own USD. That is their duty,” she added. Jayawardhana further said that if the importers are facing an issue on acceptable grounds, then the relevant importer should reach the Trade Ministry through the EFCITA. She added that when such a request is received, the Trade Ministry would write to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), after which the relevant arrangements would be made to release the USD. She explained: “There are no control prices now. Therefore, the importers can import goods and sell them in the open market. That is their business. If they have US dollars, they can spend them. However, if there is any issue on acceptable grounds, the Trade Ministry will intervene. The particular importer should reach us through their association and then we will write to the CBSL.” At yesterday’s meeting, President Rajapaksa had stressed the need to allow the importation of selected essential commodities and not to allow over-importing and stockpiling of goods with malicious intent, and had instructed to prepare a new mechanism to expedite the release of essential commodities, including food, to the market, and directed the new committee to regulate and oversee the matter. Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Trade Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardana, Minister of Ports and Shipping Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, State Minister of Co-operative Services, Marketing Development, and Consumer Protection Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Secretary to the President Gamini Senarath, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance S.R. Attygalle, and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance and Sri Lanka Customs were also present at the meeting with the President.

Kapruka

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!


More News..