Top supermarkets join Govt. to fight CoL

• Private supermarkets and Sathosa to establish Fair Price Shops and distribute Budget Packs to consumers

• Latest Govt. effort to tackle cost of living as prices rise during festive season

• Private companies participating in Govt. scheme to be given tax concessions and power charge relief

As the days tick down to the festive season, the Government yesterday announced plans to establish Fair Price Shops and through them to introduce a Budget Pack containing eight essential items to tackle the cost of living.

The private sector is to be encouraged to set up the Fair Price Shops, said the statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office. The decision was taken at a meeting with the participation of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen at Temple Trees.

“A process to distribute these Budget Packs through private supermarkets and Sathosa retail outlets will be formulated. Each Budget Pack will contain rice, dhal, sugar, sprats, onions, potatoes and tinned fish,” the statement said.

Any private or public retail outlet participating in this Government effort to supply goods, transport and distribute them will be eligible for tax concessions and relief from electricity costs. Lanka Sathosa, Cargills Food City, Aprico, Keells and Wickramaratne Ltd. have already agreed to participate in this effort, the statement added.     

Sri Lanka’s inflation in November grew to 7.6%, with consumer prices rising 1.2% in the month, the third straight month the index has risen official data showed earlier this month.

The Colombo Consumer Price Index grew from 120.8 points to 122.2 points in December, the state statistics office revealed.