Jaffna Prices At MPCS Now Higher Than When Taxed

Jaffna people are now paying a higher price for essential things than when they were taken through the land route and taxed by the LTTE. Now essential items are taken to Jaffna by ship and sold through the MPCS (Multipurpose Cooperative Society) for ration.
The prices are higher than the marketprice when they were taxed by LTTE.
Before the landroute closed all the things taken to Jaffna by land. Normally LTTE imposed 15% duty for the essential things but everything was nevertheless sold at market prices in line with Colombo prices.
Some pharmacies even sold the baby milk powder and baby infant lower than the market price eg 135.00 marked Cerelac sold for 128.00 rs. Those days some people criticised Jaffna people for paying double tax but the Jaffna people purchased everything at market pricees. A Correspondent asked the Jaffna G.A who decide the prices, he replied Ministry of Essential Services decide the prices.
Before Aug 11th Now
(Mark price)
Nespray 163.00 175.00
Anchor 163.00 175.00
Lakspray 154.00 155.00
Cerelac 200.00 210.00
Sunlight 22.00 26.00 (markprice 20.00)
Lifebuoy 22.00 27.00
Soyameat30.00 38.00
Moscuito coil30.00 39.00
Noodles 24.00 28.00
Tin milk 100.00 106.00
Normally milk powder companies given 10.00% discount to the retail sellers, The other things some companies given 20.00% commission. If anybody purhase more than 500 boxes (case) they are entitled to additional commission and bonus.
Who take the commision? Sri Lanka is territorial Democratic Socialist Republic, Jaffna is also one of the administrative districts. How has the Essential service ministry decided additional money for Jaffna only? Is Jaffna seperated or divided from Sri lanka?
Print This Post Print This Post

2,904 views

1 Comment

  1. The increase in prices is minor (a few rupees at most) and is probably in line with the national inflation rate. If the insurance hikes and the massive increase of transport costs to the North are to be taken into account, you should be grateful that the government provides you these essential goods for such an incredibly low price.

    Do you expect the government to subsidise the supplies to Jaffna residents even further while the rest of the Sri Lankans pay more? The government already covers most of the transportation costs (which, if added, will double the price of most items). If you want to buy things for Colombo prices, you must stop the war agains the people and the government of Sri Lanka.

Leave a Reply

This is a moderated forum. Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. Please do not post comments that are off topic, defamatory, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Comments are automatically scanned for spam and obscenity.

Comments are only approved if they are in line with the site guidelines. Those that do not will be edited or deleted without prior intimation. Comment approval may take up to 24 hours.

Thanks in advance for your civil and constructive engagement.


2 + three =

About Groundviews

Located at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Groundviews is a citizen journalism website that uses a range of genres and media to highlight critical perspectives on governance, reconciliation, human rights, the arts and literature, democracy and other issues. The site has won two international awards, including the prestigious Manthan Award South Asia in 2009. The grand jury's evaluation of the site noted, "What no media dares to report, Groundviews publicly exposes. It's a new age media for a new Sri Lanka... Free media at it's very best!"

cezarneaga.eu