Half of food budget at Colombo Port spent on cashew

Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva yesterday said that half of the food budget at the Colombo Port is spent on cashew.The Minister has thus instructed officials to find an alternative to cashew, given how expensive it is.The Minister said that he was notified of this when he inspected the Colombo Port’s kitchen.

The cost of an average meal at the Port costs about Rs. 450, de Silva said.The Minister also said companies which had not been registered with the Colombo Port as suppliers had been providing substantial amounts of food. The minister instructed officials to renovate the Port Kitchen.The Port Kitchen prepares lunch for 5,000 employees and dinner for 3,500 employees.

However, the kitchen does not have a qualified chef, and the Minister gave instructions to recruit a suitable person.The kitchen was established 44 years ago.Representatives of unions have complained that although the cost of a meal is high, the quality of the meals is low. Moreover, the cookers used at the kitchen consume large amounts of gas, they told the Minister.