No increase in the price of flour – CAA

by Suresh Perera

The unexpected move by market players to push ahead with an “unauthorized” increase in the price of wheat flour spurred a raid by Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) officers on the premises of a distributor of a leading importer on Thursday.

As an essential food commodity, the retail sale of wheat flour is regulated under a gazetted price control mechanism of Rs. 95 per kilogram.

“We have filed legal action against the distributor for selling wheat flour above the Maximum Retail Price (MPR)”, says Thushan Gunawardena, CAA’s Executive Director.

“There’s no increase in the price, and in case wheat flour is sold at a higher price, the public can inform us”, he said.

With the increase in the price of wheat flour by Rs. 18 per kilo in the marketplace, the bakery industry also announced that the price per loaf of bread will be pushed up by Rs. 10 apart from other flour-based products with effect from Monday (5).

“The price of savories will be revised by anything between Rs. 5-10 each”, the Bakery Owners’ Association said.

There won’t be a reason for any such price revision as the price of wheat flour will remain unchanged, Gunawardena stressed.

Asked whether wheat flour importers had sought a price increase, he said that it’s an annual ritual on their part but permission is not granted before considering all the factors including the profits they make.

Importers do forward buying depending on market fluctuations, he said. “They don’t incur big losses as a result”.

Prima and Serendib are the importers of wheat flour in Sri Lanka.