As inflation skyrockets, household income falls
Street vendors and day labourers can't even buy the cheapest food like vegetables. Some products are available only in informal markets. The government plans an aid package but has not explained how it intends to fund it.
Colombo (AsiaNews) – For the people of Sri Lanka, 2022 has not started on the right foot.
Inflation is at an all-time high and due to the lockdowns to combat the pandemic, day labourers continue to see their income drop. Some families can't even afford the cheapest food, such as vegetables.
In recent days, long queues have formed in many places, as people try to get cooking gas, powdered milk or rice; many goods cannot be found except in informal markets. On several occasions, some people have fainted whilst queuing.
Siriyawathi Kamala, a widowed mother of four, earned between 700 and 1,000 rupees (US$ 3,45 to US$ 5) per day as a street vendor before the COVID-19 pandemic. She went back to work two months ago, but is making no more than 500 rupees a day (US$ 2,45).
“What can I buy with this little money?” she told AsiaNews. “The bus fare has gone up. Without financial aid we poor people will die.”
Susantha Nimal leaves home every day at 4 am to sell fish. He cycles for 15 km to the fish market on Negombo beach, where he buys fresh fish and then sells it in the villages.
“People don’t buy fish as they used to,” he explained. “Every day, I have to keep leftover fish in the fridge. Everything is very, very expensive now,” he laments.
According to the Bath Curry Indicator (BCI) by Advocata, a think tank that monitors changes in retail food prices on a monthly basis, prices rose by 15 per cent between November and December 2021 alone, but vegetable prices rose much more.
A hundred grams of raw chillies used to cost 18 rupees (9 US cents), but now cost 71 rupees (35 US cents). Aubergine (eggplant) prices rose by 51 per cent, red onions by 40 per cent, whilst beans and tomatoes are up by 10 per cent.
As a result, the weekly bill for family of four rose from about 1,165 rupees (US$ 5.75) in December 2020 to 1,593 rupees (US$ 7.85) a year later.
A few days ago, Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa announced an aid package worth 229 billion rupees (US$ 1.13 billion), but did not provide details on how the government plans to finance the measure.
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18/05/2021 15:30
