By: Staff Writer
Colombo (LNW):Sri Lanka’s Government has failed to settle the massive egg shortage and its unbearable price of around Rs: 55-60 for consumers even after the continuation of egg imports from India with the intention of compelling local producers to bring down prices and increase supply.
On the other hand, the State Trading Corporation (STC) (Government) is making a clear cut profit of Rs 13 -15 per egg from the egg imports from India, All-Island Poultry Farmers’ Association chairman Ajith Gunasekara said.
The real benefits of importing these eggs have not been felt by the people, he claimed, adding that most shops still do not have eggs despite imports.The State Trading Corporation said that imported Indian eggs will be sold to bakeries and confectioneries at Rs 35 rupees each.
The All-Island Poultry Farmers’ Association chairman said that the government could have sold an imported Indian egg at 25 rupees.
According to LNW fact check the value of an Indian egg is Rs. 17.46 and its CFI value is around Rs 3.50 and the export cost is in the region of .Rs.20.96 around Rs21 and the the tax on those eggs is Rs 1 per egg.
According to the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) Egg Price report, the wholesale price of an egg in the Namakkal area in South India has increased from INR 4 to INR 4.40 and a little more from mid-February to March 2.
If so, even if two million eggs are bought at 4.40 Indian rupees, the value of one egg is 0.051USD at the rate of Rs 365.65 per US Dollar. According to the State Ministry of Finance internal sources, an Indian egg costs Rs.28 rupees when it arrives in Sri Lanka. .
Even under this scenario The STC /Government is getting profit by this deal and it is not becoming for the present administration to allow the consumers suffering at the expense of taxpayers money by allowing the trade ministry to kill the egg importers and consumers by this type of transactions.
“The plan of the government was to destroy the local poultry industry. Gunasekera said that the government should help the local poultry farmers boost their production.
“Gunasekara said the production of eggs and chicken had dropped drastically because of high costs. He added that the daily production of eggs, which was around 800,000 per day, had dropped to about 400,000..
Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers have given the go ahead to import eggs Trade Minister Nalin Fernando said as domestic prices rose steeply after price controls disrupted farming on top of a currency collapse.
Finance Ministry noted that that eggs can be imported from India for about 35 rupees. Sri Lanka’s eggs were around 20 to 25 rupees before the rupee collapsed from 200 to 360 to the US dollar.
