Cost of living on a war footing?

Brisk buying as Army sells 2,500 kilos of vegetables

There had been big demand on the first day of the Government-led decision by Sri Lanka Army to sell vegetables via select locations with officials claiming 2,500 kilos of fresh produce were sold.

The move to ease the rising cost of living has produced good results and it will be expanded further.

By Shezna Shums

During the first stage of this project, the Army reached its target of selling 2,500 kilos of vegetables to the public. Yesterday’s sales consisted of a kilo of tomatoes at Rs. 55, pumpkin was the same price as in shops, radish was sold at Rs. 35 and cabbage was sold at Rs. 55.

These prices are either the same as elsewhere or lower than what is sold in the outside markets, said Military Spokesperson Brigadier Ubaya Medawala.

Locations where the Army has begun selling vegetables are Maligawatte housing complex, Hyde Park, Muttiah Road, Torrington, Fort Railway Station, Borella, Rajagiriya, Ja Ela, Ekala, Katunayaka, Maharagama, Homagama and Kaduwela.

The vegetables will be purchased direct from the farmers by the Army, bypassing the middleman and other mafia groups, thereby helping keep vegetable prices low as well as protecting the vegetable farmers.

Furthermore, farmers will not have to spend on transportation to bring their vegetables for sale and incur other overhead costs.

The 2,500 kilos of vegetables sold yesterday were purchased from farmers in the Districts of Anuradhapura and Kandy and sold at some outlets in Colombo. More outlets for this purpose are yet to be opened.

However, these outlets are not permanent, although they will remain on an on-and-off basis as long as the prices of vegetables are high in Colombo, said Brigadier Medawala

At present the vegetables are being sold in Colombo and the suburbs, with plans to expand to the outstation towns.

Nevertheless, Brigadier Medawala added that he had already received calls asking for this service to be provided in other areas as well and said that this project may grow in time and expand islandwide.

“There are six permanent outlets selling vegetables and the remaining will be mobile outlets,” he said.

He told Daily FT that the variety of vegetables sold by the Army would vary according to the vegetables grown by the farmers from whom the purchases are made.

The Army will be utilising 14 lorries for this project and the vegetables will be purchased from farms situated close to the various Army camps around the island.

Army Commander Lt. General Jagath Jayasuriya has made all arrangements to implement this programme successfully on the advise of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and direction of Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Record high food prices stoke fears for economy

Singapore/London (Reuters): Record high food prices are moving to the top of policymaker agendas, driven by fears it could stoke inflation, protectionism and unrest and dent consumer demand in key emerging economies.

The United Nations’ food agency (FAO) said on Wednesday that food prices hit a record high last month, above 2008 levels when riots broke out in countries as far afield as Egypt, Cameroon and Haiti.

In Asia, official data and analyst estimates both pointed to inflationary pressures. Chilli prices have increased fivefold in Indonesia in the last year and the country’s President called for households to plant food in their own gardens.

President Susilo Yudhoyono Bambang told a cabinet meeting people should be “creative” in planting, with Trade Minister Mari Pangestu leading the way in planting at home.  “I have 200 chilli plants in flowerpots,” Pangestu told a briefing on Thursday. “The Agriculture Ministry is informing farmers how to take care of the plant and also encouraging consumers to plant chilli in their own yards.”  Surging food prices have often provoked unrest in urban areas of poor countries, where food makes up a high proportion of household purchases.

Analysts say African and Caribbean economies dependent on food exports could be particularly hard hit, helping stoke unrest and potentially pushing governments towards imposing export bans and expropriating foreign-owned farmland.

If Asian and other emerging consumers have to spend more of their income on food, other purchases will fall – and that could be bad news for a global economy that has placed much of its hopes for recovery on consumption in developing economies.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick urged governments in a newspaper opinion column to avoid protectionist measures as food prices rose and called upon the Group of 20 leading economies to take steps to make sure the poor get adequate food supplies.