• Essential food stocks in Colombo remain safe: Deputy Minister

A shortage of vegetables is expected as widespread flooding and landslides have destroyed plantations across the country, submerging key agricultural regions. 

The supply situation will likely be magnified by two days of panic buying from supermarkets and shops in Colombo and the major regional capitals of Sri Lanka. 

Many citizens, fearing prolonged flooding and food shortages, resorted to panic purchasing of goods, leaving shop shelves bare in many areas. 

However, stocks of essential food items remain available in and around Colombo, as learnt by The Sunday Morning. 

Deputy Minister of Trade, Commerce, and Food Security R.M. Jayawardana said the Government planned to address the public’s food needs by providing dry foods, but noted the severe logistical challenges in delivering even these supplies. 

When asked about the potential for price hikes of essential food items due to the disaster, the Deputy Minister said that existing stocks stored safely in Colombo and surrounding areas were not currently at risk and prices of these items were not expected to rise. 

The crisis follows a period of intense adverse weather that has triggered catastrophic flooding and landslides, displacing thousands of citizens into temporary relief camps and severely damaging the nation’s agricultural heartlands. 

“The rescue teams, consisting of the armed forces and Police, are finding it hard to reach some areas affected by flooding and landslides,” Jayawardana said.

Despite 24/7 efforts with support from the Disaster Management Centre, he acknowledged the scale of the challenge: “We believe that, given this situation, there will still be instances where we cannot meet the needs of everyone affected.”