প্রকাশ: 22/01/2022
Sri Lanka consumer prices shot up a record 14 percent in
December, surpassing a previous high of 11.1 from a month earlier, official
figures showed on Saturday as food and fuel shortages worsen.
Senior ministers warned parliament earlier in the week of a
growing food crisis with rice harvests due in March expected to be drastically
lower after an agrochemical import ban last year saw farmers abandoning more
than 30 percent of agricultural land.
The island's tourism-dependent economy has been hammered by
the pandemic with the government imposing broad import restrictions to avert a
foreign exchange crisis, triggering a shortage of essential goods.
The Census and Statistics Department said year-on-year
inflation in December was the highest since the National Consumer Price Index
(NCPI) was established in 2015.
It said food inflation also hit a record 21.5 percent, up
from 16.9 percent in November and 7.5 percent a year ago. The use of
substandard organic fertilizer and pesticides has sharply reduced vegetable and
fruit crop yields. After intense farmer protests, the government lifted its
agrochemical import ban in October, but banks are still short of dollars to
finance imports.
Supermarkets have been rationing milk powder, sugar,
lentils, and other essentials for months with a top official warning last month
of more restrictions to feed those most in need.
But agriculture ministry secretary Udith Jayasinghe was
sacked hours after calling for a formal rationing scheme to ensure that
mothers, the elderly and the sick could be fed in the months ahead.
Sri Lanka's foreign reserves have tanked since President
Gotabaya Rajapaksa took office in 2019, going from $7.5 billion to $3.1 billion
at the end of December.
The current figure is enough to finance less than two months
of imports. International rating agencies have downgraded Sri Lanka over fears
of default on its $35 billion foreign debt. The government has insisted it can
meet the obligations.
প্রধান সম্পাদকঃ সৈয়দ বোরহান কবীর
ক্রিয়েটিভ মিডিয়া লিমিটেডের অঙ্গ প্রতিষ্ঠান
বার্তা এবং বাণিজ্যিক কার্যালয়ঃ ২/৩ , ব্লক - ডি , লালমাটিয়া , ঢাকা -১২০৭
নিবন্ধিত ঠিকানাঃ বাড়ি# ৪৩ (লেভেল-৫) , রোড#১৬ নতুন (পুরাতন ২৭) , ধানমন্ডি , ঢাকা- ১২০৯
ফোনঃ +৮৮-০২৯১২৩৬৭৭