Committee appointed to conduct independent probe on Chinese fertiliser ship

Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera told Parliament yesterday that a committee headed by a judge has been appointed to conduct an independent probe into the incident relating to the Chinese fertiliser ship. 

The committee members were scheduled to be appointed yesterday, and the Minister said subsequent steps regarding the ship would be determined based on the recommendations put forth by the committee.

The Minister made this statement in response to an oral question posed by MP Dayasiri Jayasekara regarding the financial loss of $ 6.7 million attributed to the importation of Chinese fertilisers.

The Hippo Spirit ship carrying 20,000 metric tonnes of organic fertiliser left for Sri Lanka from China’s Qingdao Port and arrived in Hambantota Port on 24 October. However, harmful bacteria were detected in the samples of the fertiliser shipment.

While the shipment worth $ 6.7 million was rejected, the Sri Lankan Government nevertheless paid the Chinese company in January 2022.