20 per cent reduction in vegetable production: Official

 

Commissioner General of Essential Services Prabath Chandrakeerthi said that there is only a 20 per cent reduction in vegetable production due to the weather-related disasters as per statistics available from the districts such as Nuwara-Eliya, and therefore it is not a major issue.

Mr Chandrakeerthi told Daily Mirror that the government suspended its previous decision to allow the import of frozen vegetables as a result.

“In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, vegetable prices shot up exponentially. Now, prices have come down, but still not to the pre-disaster levels. According to reports from areas like Nuwara-Eliya, which is one of the major vegetable-growing districts, we find a 20 per cent reduction in supply. We will be able to catch up,” he said.

Asked about the supply of other essential items such as rice, he said, “There is no shortage as such in this regard.”

The government appointed a Commissioner General of Essential Services after the disaster struck.