Cost of “kevili” ingredients more than doubles since 2019

Monday, 8 April 2024 04:26 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The cost of assorting a traditional “kevili” table for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year has gone down in 2024 compared to 2023 but remains more than twice as high as it was in 2019.

This was revealed in an annual costing of a typical set of “Avurudu” sweetmeats, published on PublicFinance.lk, Sri Lanka’s premier economic insights platform maintained by Verité Research.

It shows that the cost of ingredients in 2024 is 2% less than it was in 2023.

In 2023 the costs had increased by 2.3 times compared to 2019. In 2024 this had reduced to 2.2 times the cost of 2019.

A kevili table features an array of traditional Sri Lankan sweetmeats symbolising prosperity and happiness. Despite variations between households, the typical elements of a kevili table include milk rice, kokis, banana, aluwa, kevum, dodol, mun kevum, and butter cake.

The analysis used quantities based on recipes from the popular YouTube channel “Appe Amma” for a household of 4-5 persons. Only the main ingredients were costed; utilities (electricity/gas) and spices were not costed. The price data was sourced directly from the Department of Census and Statistics, including its Open Market Weekly Average Retail Prices in the Colombo District for the years 2019 (April Week 1), 2023 (April Week 1), and 2024 (March Week 3).