Nearly 80% of the increase driven by higher coconut oil and rice flour prices
The cost of ingredients required to assort a traditional “kevili” table for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year has gone up by 7.0% in 2026 compared to 2025, and by 2.5 times compared to 2019 – prior to the pandemic and the economic crisis.
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.
Prices rose for six of the eight items included in the kevili table. The 7.0% increase in 2026 was driven primarily by higher coconut oil and rice flour prices, which together accounted for nearly 80% of the total increase.
A kevili table typically includes a range of traditional Sri Lankan sweetmeats symbolising prosperity and happiness. While variations exist across households, common items include milk rice, kokis, bananas, aluwa, kevum, dodol, mun kevum, and butter cake.
The analysis used quantities based on recipes from a popular YouTube channel for a household of 4-5 persons. Only the main ingredients were costed; utilities (electricity/gas) and spices were not.
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), 2025 (March Week 3), and 2026 (March Week 4).
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