brand logo

Litro, Laugfs hike prices by Rs. 1,257 and Rs. 984

10 Oct 2021

  • Milk powder price hike of Rs. 250 from today
By Pamodi Waravita and Dinitha Rathnayake The price of a 12.5 kg cylinder of gas by Litro Gas Lanka has been hiked by Rs. 1,257 as of 12 a.m. today (11), Litro officials told The Morning yesterday (10), while The Morning learnt that the price of a Laugfs Gas PLC 12.5 kg cylinder has been increased by Rs. 984. Accordingly, the price of a Litro Gas Lanka 12.5 kg cylinder was increased to Rs. 2,750 from Rs. 1,493, and the price of a 12.5 kg cylinder of gas by Laugfs Gas PLC was increased to Rs. 2,840 from Rs. 1,856. Following a special Cabinet meeting held last Thursday (7) with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Government decided to remove the price controls on cement, LPG, milk powder, and wheat flour. As global market prices of gas have increased significantly, both Litro Gas Lanka and Laugfs Gas have been requesting the Government that they be allowed to increase local prices as well. Although the Government rejected these requests on multiple occasions, it finally allowed Laugfs Gas Lanka to hike the LPG price by Rs. 363 for the 12.5 kg cylinder in August. At the time, however, Laugfs Gas PLC Chairman W.K.H. Wegapitiya told The Morning that he was “unimpressed” by the permitted hike, due to the prevailing world prices. Consumers have constantly complained about a shortage of both Laugfs and Litro gas cylinders in the market over the past two months. Meanwhile, in a media communiqué on 1 October, the Litro Surakeeme National Unity said that the “decision to not increase gas prices parallel to cost fluctuations during the past nine months resulted in a loss of Rs 10.5 billion for Litro Gas”. Thus, the Unity warned that if the Treasury Department does not grant monetary assistance to purchase Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG), Litro Gas will not be able to import LPG from November onwards. Meanwhile, the price of full cream milk powder has also been increased by Rs. 250 from today. Speaking to The Morning, Milk Powder Importers Association member Lakshman Weerasuriya said the Association’s original request was for a price hike of Rs.350. “The Government did not agree to the Rs. 350 price hike and the final agreement was Rs. 250,” he further stated. Accordingly, 1 kg of milk powder will now be priced at Rs. 1,195 and 400 g packet price has increased up to Rs. 480. The previous price of 1 kg of milk powder was Rs. 945, and the 400 g packet price was Rs. 380. For further details on the milk powder imports and availability, read our Business section on Page 9.


More News..