• Consumer group requests Customs citing quality issue with imports and price issue with local produce 

The National Consumer Front (NCF) has urged the relevant authorities not to release the consignment of imported salt currently held by the Customs, claiming that their possible release would pose a risk to consumers.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, the NCF President Asela Sampath claimed that a much larger quantity of salt should now be used in food processing due to the poor quality of certain imported varieties. “Imported salt is being sold at very low prices in the market, but locally produced salt remains expensive. That low price clearly reflects a quality problem."

He alleged that the relevant companies made huge profits by lowering the quality of salt that they import, and that the consumers are the ones suffering. "There is no need to release this stock because Sri Lanka already produces salt locally. We request all the authorities not to release these stocks. They should be destroyed without being allowed to enter markets.”

It was reported recently that a stock of 22,950 metric tonnes (MTs) of imported salt, valued at over Rs. 910 million, has been detained after being found to be non-compliant with national standards and imported after the Government’s permitted deadline. The shipment, one of the largest this year, was reported to have been rejected for release due to the absence of certification from the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) and for violating import deadlines imposed after the temporary relaxation of restrictions earlier this year.

The Government had lifted restrictions on salt imports until 10 June following a Cabinet of Ministers decision in May in response to a salt shortage caused by adverse weather that disrupted local production. Permission was granted to import up to 150,000 MTs to stabilise the market.

When contacted, the Trade, Commerce, and Food Security Deputy Minister R.M. Jayawardena said that he had not yet been able to look into the matter.