Sri Lanka extends food tax on potatoes, slashes onion levy
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka has extended a food import tax on potatoes to around 60,000 rupees a tonne (about 205 US dollars) but slashed a tax onion to 10,000 rupees (about 34 dollars) from 40,000 rupees a tonne, according to a gazette notice.
The taxes, a so-called special commodity levy, will be applicable from December 1 to December 31.
Sri Lanka has among the highest food taxes in the world, including on rice at 65,000 rupees a tonne, (about 222 US dollars at 292 rupees a dollar) keeping prices among the highest in the world, especially compared to incomes.
In Sri Lanka, basic Nadu rice wholesale prices were reported at around 229 rupees a kilo (about 784 dollars a tonne), which is about the FOB price of Vietnam fragrant rice.
India parboiled 5% broken rice fell below 500 dollars a tonne to 474 dollars (about 138 rupees a kilo) in October, following the lifting of a minimum export price of 490 dollars, according to November Food and Agricultural Organization data.
The tax amounts to around 43% of the FOB price of Indian parboiled rice.
Sri Lanka said two state agencies would import 70,000 metric tonnes of rice to counter high prices of Nadu rice.
Sri Lanka has had a long-standing policy of promoting inefficient farming, and favouring producers over the malnutrition of children, while building so-called mafias of collectors, according to critics.
Sri Lanka also taxes maize and places import licensing, pushing up the cost of basic proteins like eggs and poultry meat.
Milk is also taxed heavily as is tinned fish, used by poor households without refrigerators.
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