The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) says that the National People’s Power (NPP) government is fostering a cartel of politically connected food importers at the expense of local farmers.
SJB Matale District MP Rohini Kaviratne alleged that large-scale importers, benefiting from inside information on duties and levies, have been given free rein by the government.
Speaking at an event in Matale, she claimed that recent changes in food import policies favoured a small group of profit-driven “deal makers,” rather than traditional traders in Pettah or Dambulla.
Kaviratne pointed to the Finance Ministry’s delayed imposition of a Special Commodity Levy (SCL) on imported big onions as evidence of an unholy alliance between the government and major businesses. She noted that big onion imports surged from 73,332 metric tons during the first eight months of last year to 144,551 metric tons this year.
She noted that sugar imports also rose sharply from 223,144 metric tons in the first half of 2024 to 343,416 metric tons in the same period this year.
Recalling allegations of a sugar tax scam under the SLPP government, the SJB lawmaker accused the NPP administration of continuing “sordid operations” while shifting blame to other political parties for corruption.
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