President says import of non-essential food items and unhealthy foods will be stopped

President Maithripala Sirisena says that the National Economic Council expects to take immediate steps to stop importing all non-essential food items as well as unhealthy foods into the country.

He made these remarks at the opening of the Agricultural Exhibition held at the Training Institute of the Department of Agriculture in Bombuwala, Kalutara.

The exhibition was organised by the Western Provincial Ministry of Agriculture under the theme ‘Saru Diviyata Krushi Saviya’ which will end today.

Addressing the gathering, the President further said that more than Rs. 25 billion is spent annually to import essential food items. President Sirisena said that it was essential to produce food required for our consumption in our own country. He pointed out that self-sufficiency in food had been the identity and culture of our country for the past thousands of years and it should be protected. He also said it was important that we give value to our products if we were to help the agriculture economy as well as the national economy.

The battle of national food production will be commenced in the next month to make a new transformation in the agricultural sector of Sri Lanka, while minimising the loss incurred due to the recent drought and floods that affected the country, reducing the agricultural production. The relevant circulars and instruction leaflets have already been issued to all institutions, he added.

The President said that he had instructed the Finance Ministry to impose a 100% tax on imported big onions, considering the difficulties faced by local onion farmers.

Furthermore, under the battle of the national food production program, it is expected to cultivate all the lands in the  public and private sectors, and the Government will take steps to encourage those who are cultivating and take legal action against those who do not cultivate, the President said, adding that he believed that everyone would join together for this initiative considering it a humanitarian operation to eliminate poverty from the country but not in a way which imposed legal actions or constitutional law.

Expressing his views regarding the tours he made to the US to attend the sessions of the United Nations General Assembly, the President said that Sri Lanka had won the blessings and friendship of all the world’s countries including prominent global organisations such as the United Nations.

After declaring the exhibition open, President Sirisena made an inspection tour of the exhibition. He also opened the newly built two-storey building at the Training Institute of the Department of Agriculture in Bombuwala, Kalutara. The building was completed at a cost of Rs. 46 million.

Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, Governor of the Western Province K.C. Logeswaran, Chief Minister Isuru Devapriya and Western Province Agriculture Minister Gamini Thilakasiri were present at the occasion.