New Year ‘kevili’ table costs 7% higher in 2025 than 2024

Friday, 11 April 2025 03:52 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Analysis finds cost of ingredients has more than doubled since 2019

The cost of preparing a traditional ‘kevili’ table for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year has increased by 7% in 2025 compared to 2024, and stands more than twice as high as it was in 2019.

This was revealed in the annual ‘New Year Kevili Table’ analysis conducted by PublicFinance.lk, Sri Lanka’s premier economic insights platform maintained by Verité Research.

The analysis found a 7% increase in the cost of ingredients between March 2024 and March 2025, primarily due to a rise in coconut prices and coconut oil prices by 80% and 40%, respectively. Most other ingredients either decreased in price or remained unchanged.

In 2024, the cost of ingredients had increased by 2.2 times compared to 2019, and in 2025, it has risen to 2.4 times the cost of 2019.

A kevili table features a range of traditional Sri Lankan sweet treats, symbolising prosperity and happiness. Despite variations between households, the typical items on 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 included. Price data was sourced directly from the Department of Census and Statistics, including from its Open Market Weekly Average Retail prices in the Colombo District for the years 2019 (April Week 1), 2023 (April Week 1), 2024 (March Week 3), and 2025 (March Week 3).

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