Sri Lanka heeds protests, lifts ban on agrochemical imports
3 years, 1 month ago

Sri Lanka heeds protests, lifts ban on agrochemical imports

Associated Press  

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s government has withdrawn a ban on imports of agrochemicals that it said was aimed at encouraging organic cultivation. But he said government subsidies, price guarantees for produce and technical support will only be provided to those who use organic fertilizer. The ban, which many analysts said was more an effort to preserve Sri Lanka’s scarce foreign reserves, drew months of protests, with farmers saying they were in danger of crop failures and poverty. Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves dwindled to just two months’ worth of imports in August and its rupee currency depreciated 7.4% against the dollar in the first eight months of the year, according to the World Bank.

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History of this topic

Sri Lanka Returns to Uninterrupted Power Supply After a Year; at Higher Cost
1 year, 10 months ago

Sri Lanka Returns to Uninterrupted Power Supply After a Year; at Higher Cost

News 18  

After a year of load-shedding, Sri Lankans will get continuous power from Thursday, albeit with a hike in tariff in line with the conditions set by the IMF. President Ranil Wickremesinghe has directed officials to ensure an uninterrupted power supply to customers after the tariff revision is implemented, a statement from the President’s Media Division said. The state power entity …

Sri Lanka imports 600,000 metric tonnes of substandard rice due to flawed chemical fertiliser ban: Minister
2 years, 3 months ago

Sri Lanka imports 600,000 metric tonnes of substandard rice due to flawed chemical fertiliser ban: Minister

India TV News  

Highlights Poisonous rice has been imported due to flawed decision of previous government Last year, Gotabaya Rajapaksa put a blanket ban on imports of chemical fertilizers Sri Lanka is going through its worst economic crisis since its independence in 1948 Sri Lanka economic crisis : Lanka's Agricultural Minister Mahinda Amaraweera informed Parliament on Thursday that the cash-strapped country had to …

Sri Lanka bans import of 300 items of consumer goods to stabilise economy
2 years, 4 months ago

Sri Lanka bans import of 300 items of consumer goods to stabilise economy

The Hindu  

Sri Lanka has slapped a ban on the import of 300 consumer items like chocolates, perfumes and shampoos as part of the cash-strapped island nation’s bid to tackle its worst economic crisis triggered by the shortage of foreign exchange. The worsening forex crisis caused essential items shortages triggering massive public protests in the street since early this year that led …

Sri Lanka to restrict fuel imports for next 12 months
2 years, 4 months ago

Sri Lanka to restrict fuel imports for next 12 months

The Hindu  

Sri Lanka will restrict fuel imports for the next 12 months because of a severe shortage of foreign exchange, its energy minister said on July 25, as the island nation's new government seeks to find a way out of a crippling economic crisis. "Due to Forex issues, Fuel imports has to be restricted in the next 12 months," Sri Lanka's …

Protesters demanding Sri Lankan President's resignation block all entrances of presidential secretariat; 21 arrested
2 years, 6 months ago

Protesters demanding Sri Lankan President's resignation block all entrances of presidential secretariat; 21 arrested

India Today  

A group of protesters in Sri Lanka demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapksa for the mismanagement of the economy blocked all entrances of the presidential secretariat here, forcing the police on Monday to arrest 21 people, including a Buddhist monk and four women. Sri Lanka is awaiting official confirmation from India on a new credit line that would allow …

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka allows gov’t workers 4-day week to grow food
2 years, 6 months ago

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka allows gov’t workers 4-day week to grow food

Al Jazeera  

The island nation asks public sector employees to take off on Fridays to grow crops in their back yards in a bid to forestall a looming food shortage. Sri Lanka has approved a four-day work week for public sector workers to grow food in their back yards in a bid to forestall a looming food shortage as the government struggles …

Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa instructs officials to stockpile essentials, amid looming food shortage
2 years, 6 months ago

Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa instructs officials to stockpile essentials, amid looming food shortage

Firstpost  

Colombo: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed officials to stockpile adequate essentials and warned against organised efforts of traders from creating an artificial scarcity amidst an impending food shortage facing the island nation in the next three months, media reports said on Friday. The President’s request comes after experts have warned of a possible shortage of rice and other …

Sri Lanka: People running out of food, fuel and medicine
2 years, 7 months ago

Sri Lanka: People running out of food, fuel and medicine

The Hindu  

"I have a 10-month-old baby. I couldn't even buy medicines for her when she was sick last week," said Gunarathna Vaani, who resides in the suburbs of Sri Lanka's capital Colombo. A dire economic crisis Many of Sri Lanka's 22 million people are facing acute shortages of food, fuel and medicine as the island nation finds itself battling one of …

Sri Lanka’s usable reserves now negligible, says Finance Minister
2 years, 7 months ago

Sri Lanka’s usable reserves now negligible, says Finance Minister

The Hindu  

Sri Lanka’s usable foreign reserves are down to $50 million, as the cash-strapped island awaits assistance from the International Monetary Fund, which might take up to six months to come through, Finance Minister Ali Sabry said on Wednesday. Delivering his first special statement in Parliament as Finance Minister, Mr. Sabry said: “Our liquid reserves, or usable reserves, are less than …

How a powerful dynasty bankrupted Sri Lanka in 30 months
2 years, 7 months ago

How a powerful dynasty bankrupted Sri Lanka in 30 months

Al Jazeera  

Ahead of the November 2019 election, Sri Lankan presidential challenger Gotabaya Rajapaksa proposed sweeping tax cuts so reckless the incumbent government thought it must be a campaign gimmick. “The Rajapaksas are withdrawing, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to surrender,” said Jehan Perera, a newspaper columnist and the executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, an independent …

Sri Lanka stock exchange halts trade again as shares see massive plunge
2 years, 7 months ago

Sri Lanka stock exchange halts trade again as shares see massive plunge

Hindustan Times  

The share market in crisis-torn Sri Lanka plunged nearly 13 per cent leading to halting of trade for the second time this month on Monday, after resuming from a two-week break. Sri Lankan students protest outside the residence of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo on Sunday. Monday was the first morning of trade on the Colombo bourse following a …

India extends additional USD 500 million credit line to Sri Lanka for fuel purchase
2 years, 8 months ago

India extends additional USD 500 million credit line to Sri Lanka for fuel purchase

Deccan Chronicle  

Colombo: India has agreed to extend an additional USD 500 million credit line to help Sri Lanka import fuel, Finance Minister Ali Sabry said, amid delays in chalking out a bailout package with the IMF to mitigate the dire financial crisis facing the island nation. “India has agreed to provide an additional USD 500 million for our fuel imports,” Sabry …

Burning tyres, blocked roads as Sri Lanka protests fuel shortage, price hikes
2 years, 8 months ago

Burning tyres, blocked roads as Sri Lanka protests fuel shortage, price hikes

Hindustan Times  

A shortage of fuel in crisis-hit Sri Lanka ignited massive protests across the country Tuesday as tens of thousands of angry motorists burned tyres and blocked a major road leading into capital Colombo, news agency AFP reported citing police and local officials. Sri Lanka fuel protests Protests have engulfed the island nation over the past weeks after the government ran …

Sri Lankan crisis: Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to issue special statement tonight
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lankan crisis: Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to issue special statement tonight

Firstpost  

Sri Lanka is battling a severe economic crisis with food and fuel scarcity affecting a large number of the people in the island nation resulting in massive protests over the government’s handling of the situation Colombo: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is going to issue a special statement on Monday evening, the prime minister’s office said in a statement. …

Sri Lanka economic crisis pushes price of food items to 'unbearable levels', rice now selling at over Rs 200 per kg
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lanka economic crisis pushes price of food items to 'unbearable levels', rice now selling at over Rs 200 per kg

Firstpost  

Reeling under severe economic crisis, the Sri Lankan government is now forced to restrict the import of a host of essential commodities, including food items Colombo: Sri Lanka is already under an unprecedented economic crisis and amid this people being burdened further as prices of food essentials are soaring high. A report by Colombo Page mentioned consumers in Sri Lanka …

Sri Lanka crisis: Food prices surge to 'unbearable levels'
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lanka crisis: Food prices surge to 'unbearable levels'

India TV News  

Highlights Food prices surge to unbearable levels in Sri Lanka The consumers in the island nation said that rice prices have risen to unbearable levels The minimum price of a kilo of rice in the general market has now exceeded Rs 200-240 Sri Lanka crisis: Amid the unprecedented economic crisis in Sri Lanka, the price of rice has risen to …

Roots of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis
2 years, 8 months ago

Roots of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis

The Hindu  

Sri Lanka is in the news for all the wrong reasons. However, China’s share in Sri Lanka’s total foreign debt was less than 10 per cent in 2020. “The linchpin of the reform programme", as the IMF termed it, was that Sri Lanka must cut its fiscal deficit from 6.9 per cent of the GDP in 2015 to 4 per …

How Sri Lanka Landed in a Crisis and What It Means
2 years, 8 months ago

How Sri Lanka Landed in a Crisis and What It Means

Bloomberg  

Months of protests in Sri Lanka over soaring inflation, shortages of food and fuel and lengthy power cuts have toppled the government in the South Asian nation and led to its first sovereign debt default since gaining independence from Britain in 1948. In late 2019, newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa carried out populist tax cuts, reducing revenues just months before …

Lanka protesters defy curfew after web ban
2 years, 8 months ago

Lanka protesters defy curfew after web ban

Hindustan Times  

COLOMBO: Opposition lawmakers and thousands of people angered by the government’s handling of Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis on Sunday marched to denounce the President’s move to impose a nationwide curfew and state of emergency, as protests over food and fuel shortages swelled. Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and finance minister Basil Rajapaksa may step down soon as public …

Sri Lanka Economic Crisis: Street Lights Off, Forex Reserves Exhausted; What Led To Chaos?
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lanka Economic Crisis: Street Lights Off, Forex Reserves Exhausted; What Led To Chaos?

News 18  

The economic crisis in Sri Lanka is deepening and the government there is taking strict measures, including imposing emergency, to deal with the protests over the country’s worst financial woe in decades. Forex Reserves Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange reserves have depleted by 70 per cent to USD 2.3 billion as of February in the past two years, thus impacting the …

Sri Lanka imposes 36-hour curfew until 6 a.m. on April 4
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lanka imposes 36-hour curfew until 6 a.m. on April 4

The Hindu  

Sri Lanka has declared a weekend curfew, ahead of mass protests planned by citizens’ groups challenging the government over its “failed” response to a heightening economic crisis in the island nation. A proclamation from the President said the Emergency was in the interests of “public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to …

Sri Lanka crisis: India sends 40k tonnes of diesel, supply of rice soon
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lanka crisis: India sends 40k tonnes of diesel, supply of rice soon

Hindustan Times  

India on Saturday delivered 40,000 tonnes of diesel to crisis-hit Sri Lanka, the island nation's NewsWire said, quoting Ceylon Petroleum Corporation chairman Sumith Wijesinghe. NewsWire said distribution will start this evening - welcome news for hundreds of fuel stations across Sri Lanka that had no supply over the past few days. The diesel shipment is part of an additional $500 …

No gas, no medicine, no food: Life in crisis-hit Sri Lanka | Exclusive
2 years, 8 months ago

No gas, no medicine, no food: Life in crisis-hit Sri Lanka | Exclusive

India Today  

As the economic crisis in Sri Lanka spirals out of control, 69-year-old Thomos from Colombo told India Today that petrol is unavailable, medicines are difficult to find and essential food items are being sold at extremely high prices in the country. ECONOMIC CRISIS IN SRI LANKA With huge debt obligations and dwindling foreign reserves, Sri Lanka has found itself unable …

Sri Lanka’s rage: The Hindu Editorial on the island nation’s economic woes
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lanka’s rage: The Hindu Editorial on the island nation’s economic woes

The Hindu  

As irate protesters gathered near the house of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a desperate bid to highlight their suffering, the worsening economic crisis in Sri Lanka has possibly reached its crescendo. The roots of the crisis may not lie wholly in the policies of Mr. Gotabaya, who was swept to power in 2019 as President on a platform of strong …

Sri Lanka crisis: Protest outside President's house turns violent; country runs out of diesel
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lanka crisis: Protest outside President's house turns violent; country runs out of diesel

India TV News  

Highlights Thousands protest outside President Gotabaya Rajapaksa house in Colombo The crowd shouted, "Go home, Gota go home" The mob set fire to one of buses and turned back a fire truck that rushed to douse it Sri Lanka Latest News: Police fired tear gas and a water cannon at thousands of protesters outside the home of Sri Lanka's President …

Sri Lanka economic crisis: 13-hour long power cuts, fuel shortage force thousands to protest
2 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lanka economic crisis: 13-hour long power cuts, fuel shortage force thousands to protest

India TV News  

Highlights Sri Lanka faces its worst economic crisis since independence Power cuts are going up to 13-hour, fuel shortage adding more tension India has come to rescue with nearly $2.5 billion financial assistance Sri Lanka is facing an unprecedented economic crisis as country witnesses massive power cuts upto 10 to 13-hour long, shortage of fuel and spillovers from the crisis …

Explaining Sri Lanka’s economic crisis
2 years, 8 months ago

Explaining Sri Lanka’s economic crisis

The Hindu  

The Sri Lankan economy has been facing a crisis owing to a serious balance of payments problem. Further, the capital flight that accompanied the global financial crisis of 2008 drained Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange reserves. With no pick-up in growth or exports, and the continuing drain of foreign exchange reserves, the new United National Party -led coalition government approached the …

Sharp rise in Sri Lanka fuel prices as economy reels
2 years, 8 months ago

Sharp rise in Sri Lanka fuel prices as economy reels

Al Jazeera  

Lanka IOC, which accounts for a third of the market, lifts price by nearly 20 percent, the second increase in as many weeks. One of Sri Lanka’s biggest fuel suppliers has raised the price of petrol by nearly 20 percent, the second increase in as many weeks, as the country struggles to import oil without dollars. There was no immediate …

Sri Lanka Food Crisis: Milk Powder At Rs 790 For 400 Grams; Rice, Sugar Prices Rise Steeply
2 years, 9 months ago

Sri Lanka Food Crisis: Milk Powder At Rs 790 For 400 Grams; Rice, Sugar Prices Rise Steeply

ABP News  

New Delhi: With the economic crisis deepening in Sri Lanka, the prices of essential commodities, including milk and rice have gone through the roof and people are forced to stand in long queues to recharge fuel. Sri Lanka has been struggling to find dollars to pay for increasingly expensive fuel shipments since January, with its foreign currency reserves dipping to …

Higher oil prices push Sri Lanka into deeper economic crisis
2 years, 9 months ago

Higher oil prices push Sri Lanka into deeper economic crisis

Associated Press  

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s already dire economic crisis has deepened as oil prices hover near $110 a barrel. “We can’t find diesel, naphtha and furnace oil, all three kinds and therefore we have been compelled to go for such an extended power cut,” Sri Lanka’s Public Utilities Commission Chairman Janaka Ratnayake told reporters. The higher oil prices are …

Economic crisis tightens grip on Sri Lanka’s hinterland
2 years, 10 months ago

Economic crisis tightens grip on Sri Lanka’s hinterland

The Hindu  

As Sri Lanka’s economic crisis makes global headlines, estate worker B. Sundararajan is watching it manifest in his teacup. Besides the irony of a tea plantation worker, producing the famed ‘Ceylon tea’, rationing his own tea intake, Mr. Sundararajan’s reality lays bare the severity of Sri Lanka’s current economic meltdown. Colombo has foreign debt obligations totalling nearly $7 billion this …

Sri Lanka unveils $1BN relief plan as soaring food prices bite
2 years, 11 months ago

Sri Lanka unveils $1BN relief plan as soaring food prices bite

Al Jazeera  

Sri Lanka will increase pay and pensions for government employees, roll back some taxes on food and medicine and boost income support for the poorest citizens. Sri Lanka unveiled a $1 billion relief package as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government seeks to temper growing public anger over the surging prices of essential food and medical items in a country that’s running …

Sri Lanka sends Ceylon tea to pay $250m Iranian oil bill
3 years ago

Sri Lanka sends Ceylon tea to pay $250m Iranian oil bill

The Telegraph  

Sri Lanka is to pay off a $251m Iranian oil debt by sending the country millions of dollars worth of tea every month. The Sri Lankan government has sought to make foreign exchange swaps with China, Bangladesh, South Korea, and India in a bid to avoid going to the International Monetary Fund. Officials have already banned imports of products including …

Sri Lanka partially lifts ban on chemical fertilizers; allows private sector to import it
3 years, 1 month ago

Sri Lanka partially lifts ban on chemical fertilizers; allows private sector to import it

The Hindu  

The Sri Lankan government has decided to partially lift the ban on chemical fertilizers and permit the private sector to import it to allow the country’s farmers to purchase it from the open market, Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said on Wednesday. Following last week’s confusion when the top agriculture bureaucrat Udith Jayasinghe implied that there would be a blanket lifting …

Sri Lanka revokes ban on fertilizers
3 years, 1 month ago

Sri Lanka revokes ban on fertilizers

The Hindu  

Sri Lanka abandoned its quest to become the world’s first completely organic farming nation on Sunday, announcing it would immediately lift an import ban on pesticides and other agricultural inputs. But ahead of planned farmer protests in the capital, Sri Lanka’s Agricultural Ministry said it would end a broader ban on all agrochemicals, including herbicides and pesticides. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa …

Sri Lanka abandons drive to become world's first organic country amid spiralling food prices
3 years, 1 month ago

Sri Lanka abandons drive to become world's first organic country amid spiralling food prices

The Telegraph  

Sri Lanka has abandoned its attempt to become the world's first entirely organic farming nation amid spiralling food prices and weeks of protest. Speaking at the COP 26 climate summit in Glasgow this month, president Gotabaya Rajapaksa defended the policy, saying only "entrenched lobbies" were against a move that would create "opportunities for investment in organic agriculture." But Colombo reversed …

Sri Lanka: Thousands protest amid deteriorating economic conditions, fuel shortage
3 years, 1 month ago

Sri Lanka: Thousands protest amid deteriorating economic conditions, fuel shortage

India TV News  

Highlights Demonstrations in Colombo led by country’s main opposition political party, United People’s Force Protest came as Sri Lankan Parliament debated national budget for 2022 Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves dwindled to just 2-months worth of imports in August Thousands of people on Tuesday protested in Sri Lanka’s capital against deteriorating economic conditions amid fuel and other shortages. The demonstrations in …

Sri Lanka reverses organic farming drive as tea suffers
3 years, 2 months ago

Sri Lanka reverses organic farming drive as tea suffers

Al Jazeera  

Government backs down from ambitious plans to become the world’s first completely organic farming nation, reversing ban on fertiliser imports. Sri Lanka has backed down from its ambitious plans to become the world’s first completely organic farming nation, reversing a ban on imports of chemical fertiliser. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had imposed a total ban on agrochemicals in May, saying he …

Sri Lanka eyeing green agriculture
3 years, 2 months ago

Sri Lanka eyeing green agriculture

The Hindu  

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed a task force on ‘green agriculture’, his office said on Saturday, while Sri Lanka’s farmers continue protesting his government’s abrupt ‘organic fertilizer only’ policy shift since May this year. Describing the government’s fertilizer ban “a blunder” that threatens food production in the country, the soil scientist told The Hindu : “It is a contradiction because …

Sri Lanka President Admits 'Not Delivering' as Foreign Exchange Squeeze Makes Prices Soar
3 years, 2 months ago

Sri Lanka President Admits 'Not Delivering' as Foreign Exchange Squeeze Makes Prices Soar

News 18  

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa admitted his government is “not delivering” as shortages persist of food, medicines and other essential items because of a dire foreign exchange squeeze. Within hours of Rajapaksa’s remarks on Sunday, the government also announced an 85 percent hike in the price of liquified petroleum gas used in cooking stoves, starting Monday. Foreign reserves were $7.5 …

‘Food emergency’ in Sri Lanka: All you need to know
3 years, 3 months ago

‘Food emergency’ in Sri Lanka: All you need to know

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A food shortage brewing for …

Sri Lanka denies food shortage: govt
3 years, 3 months ago

Sri Lanka denies food shortage: govt

The Hindu  

The Sri Lankan government on September 2 denied that the country was facing a food shortage, underlining that the Public Security Ordinance on the supply of essential goods was imposed to stop their hoarding. “The president has promulgated emergency regulations under the Public Security Ordinance on the supply of essential goods”, presidential spokesman Kingsley Ratnayake told reporters. He added following …

Sri Lanka Bans Palm Oil Imports with Immediate Effect, Asks Plantations to Uproot Trees
3 years, 8 months ago

Sri Lanka Bans Palm Oil Imports with Immediate Effect, Asks Plantations to Uproot Trees

News 18  

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has banned the import of palm oil with immediate effect and ordered local plantation companies to uproot 10 per cent of their trees and replace them with rubber trees or other environment-friendly crops, a move that could benefit the domestic coconut oil industry. Companies and entities, which have done such cultivations, will be required to …

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