Govt. says no food shortage in the country

The Government yesterday reiterated that there is no food shortage in the country.

“There is no truth at all in news reports now in circulation claiming there is a shortage of essential food items in the country, such as rice and sugar,” a statement from the Government Information Department said.

“The Government has sufficient stocks to meet the demand,” it added.

Referring to several local and foreign media and social media news reports suggesting that a severe food shortage is developing in Sri Lanka, the statement said: “They are totally baseless. Certain Opposition politicians are also repeating this false information.”

The statement also said it was reported that some fraudulent traders were hoarding essential food items such as paddy, rice and sugar in large quantities with the intention of selling them at higher price in order to make excessive profits in the future.

“Sections relating to the provision of essential food items in the Public Security Ordinance were invoked last Monday in order to defeat these criminal efforts. The purpose was to seize stocks of hidden food items and hand them over to Government agencies including the CWE for distribution at reasonable prices,” the statement said.

“As a result attempts to create an artificial food shortage in the country were thus defeated. Therefore, the Government urges the people not to panic fearing a food shortage in the country,” the statement added.