• Economic, environmental, procedural concerns raised by authorities  

Despite the inflation-affected public welcoming the idea of importing vegetables to be sold at lower or concessional rates in response to the recent, drastic vegetable price hike, authorities remain sceptical about the matter due to economic, environmental, and procedural concerns.

The matter has been discussed at a recent policy meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat, where several key entities that have a role in the importation of vegetables pointed out practical difficulties pertaining to the proposal. According to Trade, Commerce, and Food Security Ministry Secretary A.M.P.M.B. Atapattu, who spoke to The Daily Morning in this regard, the said meeting had been attended by representatives of the Agriculture Ministry, the Health Ministry’s Quarantine Unit, and the Import and Export Control Department, among others. 

It had been pointed out during the meeting that obtaining necessary approval to import vegetables was an arduous task, since plant quarantine-related assessments and approvals would take at least a month to materialise. The meeting had arrived at a conclusion that implementing such a plan immediately, therefore, was not practical. Atapattu added that it was not yet clear as to whether these meetings would continue or come to an end with the said conclusion.

However, for the time being, no related decision has been taken nor has permission been granted to import vegetables.  

These talks come in a context where retail markets saw sudden and drastic vegetable price increases and decreases during the past few weeks, which inconvenienced the public. While unfavourable weather conditions in farming areas, costs and price changes resulting from the recent value-added tax hike, and market conditions affected by inflation were blamed for this situation, authorities urged the public to pay attention to grow food crops to alleviate the impact of the situation.