Sri Lanka bakery owners shift price control drumbeat from eggs to wheat flour
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s bakery owners who helped create a crisis in the poultry sector after demanding price controls on eggs are now demanding price controls on wheat, dealing a body blow to the ‘social market economy’ of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
“There is a market gap for flour in Sri Lanka. If there is no flour, we simply cannot produce,” , N K Jayawardena, President of the All Ceylon Bakery Owners’ Association (ACBOA), said.speaking to reporters on Tuesday August 30.
Jayawardena indicated that higher wheat prices will result in the price of a 450-gram loaf of bread rising to as much as 300 rupees.
Presently, a loaf of bread weighing 450 grams’ ranges between 200 to 250 rupees.
A 50-kilogram bag of wheat flour is around 20,000 rupees.
“If we buy flour for 20,000 rupees eventually the price of bread will inevitably rise to 300 rupees,” said Jayawardena.
Food prices in Sri Lanka have skyrocketed as inflation grew.
Meanwhile, the government has imposed price controls on eggs, where a brown egg is to be sold at 45 rupees and a white egg at 43 rupees, though eggs are still generally sold between 50 to 60 rupees due to an ongoing animal feed shortage.
Some economists argue against price controls, noting that they lead to shortages and black markets where the goods in question are sold at exorbitant prices anyway, eventually hurting low-income groups.
A campaign for boycotting eggs, biscuits and bakery items has also emerged.
“We don’t buy biscuits anymore, because every day it’s a new price. There is no consistency in the pricing formula. Luckily this decision is good for our health as well as our bank,” a resident of Mount Lavinia said.
“We don’t buy eggs. We read on the internet that six Thai eggplants (thalana batu) is equivalent to one egg,” said Malkanthi Fernando, who has stopped buying eggs due to high prices. (Colombo/Aug30/2022)
