Relief package unveiled as slump sees food prices soar
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka unveiled a $1.1 billion (27 billion baht) targeted relief package yesterday to help consumers pay soaring food costs as an economic crisis bites.
The island’s tourism-dependent economy was hammered by the pandemic and rampant shortages have left its people struggling to buy essential goods.
Supermarkets have been rationing milk powder, sugar, lentils and other essentials, with food prices rising by a record 22% last month.
More than two million state employees and pensioners will be given a living allowance of 60,000 rupees (9,700 baht) this year to deal with the rising cost of living.
The government did not say how it would finance the package, which comes two months after the unveiling of a drastic austerity budget.
Last year’s ban on agrochemical imports worsened food shortages by causing crop failures and prompting farmers to leave nearly a third of the island’s agricultural fields dormant.
The policy was lifted after protests by farmers but its consequences have sparked discord in Sri Lanka’s ruling coalition. Last month a top agriculture official warned that Sri Lanka could face a famine and was fired hours later.