Fuel shortages and fuel queues are becoming a normal part of daily life for the people of Sri Lanka. The tragedy here is that due to the shortage of fuel, the daily income of a large number of people in the country is blocked and they are falling into utter destitution.
People queuing for fuel are also debating what the solution is to the fuel shortage and why the government is not implementing it.
The world-renowned Ceylon Tea brand earns a large export income. But the Colombo tea auction is still held in rupees. If the tea auction was held in US dollars, the country would be able to earn that revenue directly in dollars, which would also enable the country to import the required amount of petrol, say three-wheeler drivers waiting in fuel queues. They question whether the government is not taking such a step because it does not have that much understanding.
In this regard, we also investigated the facts and found that Kenya has decided to hold its Mombasa tea auction in US dollars in this way and has achieved successful results. A research report prepared on that can be read in the following link.
In fact, if the government decides to hold the Colombo Tea Auction in dollars, that money could be used entirely to import fuel or chemical fertilizers needed for the country’s agriculture. This would raise US $ 900 million annually. Needless to say, this is a huge amount of money.
The possibility of holding the Colombo Tea Auction in dollars was discussed in Parliament last month but no decision has been taken yet.
