Moves to dominate the market and create mafias by food manufacturers that would create shortages and destabilise the market will not be tolerated, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Chathuranga Abeysinghe.
“It was the monopolistic attitude and approach of a certain manufacturer of salt that triggered an issue in the salt market,” he said.
Assuring that there won’t be room for unethical practices in any market, the Deputy Minister said that manipulative tactics by manufacturers or merchants to jack up prices by creating artificial shortages will be dealt with severely in the future.
The price of edible salt rose sharply in the recent months owing to the scarcity of stocks in the market.
However, the salt shortage in the country has been addressed through imports, with a ship carrying salt arriving in Colombo Port and more salt due shortly.
Trade Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe said last week that the issue has been resolved, with imports due to arrive in the country soon.
Around 18,163 metric tons of salt were imported to the country between May 22 and June 7, according to Trade Ministry sources.
The value of the imported stock has been estimated at Rs. 1,291 million. The quantity estimated to address the shortage was 30,000 metric tons. The Deputy Minister of Industry said that steps have been taken to solve the storage, distribution and management issues with the Sevanagala and Pelwatte sugar factories to ensure a steady supply of sugar to the market.
Food and beverage sector, confectioneries, bakeries, and soft drink manufacturers, as well as industries that use sugar as a sweetener in their products such as jams, preserves, and other processed food items rely on sugar for the sustenance of the sectors.
The ‘rice mafia’ and ‘maize mafia’ examples of crony mercantilists or rent seekers in economic parlance have been taking consumers for a ride with the full backing of the Government of the day.
