Duty on onions and potatoes up

The import duties on big onions and potatoes were increased by Rs 25 and Rs 20 per kilogram respectively with effect from 24.00 hrs. yesterday.

Thus the import duty on a kilogram of big onions will be Rs 50 and that on a kilogram of potatoes Rs 30.

A spokesman from the Ministry of Internal Trade and Cooperatives said that, as locally produced potatoes and onions were to be harvested and expected to enter the market in the near future, it was decided to raise the import duty on these items in order to help the local farmers.

Asked whether a large harvest could be expected after the recent drought, he said it had not impacted on the production of onions and potatoes as they had been produced in areas which were not affected by the drought.

The main opposition UNP said the decision to increase the import duty on big onions was on account of the provincial council elections. UNP National List MP Harsha de Silva said the government had forgotten the consumers and solely concentrated on the farmers in the areas where the elections were to be held.

He said the import duty on onions was increased to please the farmers in the Mahaweli H zone in Anuradhapura and in Polonnaruwa where elections would be held.

He said potato imports had increased to 100,000 metric tons in 2011, while the local production had hardly increased because seed potatoes were not produced locally.

JVP Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath said the government had locked the stable after the horse had bolted. He said the onion farmers were already in difficulties as they had failed to get a fair price for their produce.

He said there was no point increasing import duties without effective storage and marketing facilities for the local produce.