The Milk Powder Importers’ Association (MPIA) decided to increase the prices of imported powdered milk with effect from midnight yesterday (30).
Meanwhile, Canteen Owners have parallelly announced the suspension of the sale of milk tea.
The moves come after the price of milk powder packets was increased. A kilogramme (kg) packet of milk powder which was priced at Rs. 1,195 was increased by Rs. 150, making its new price Rs. 1,345. The price of a 400 grams (g) packet of milk powder was also increased by Rs. 60, with the new price at Rs. 540.
The said price hike was followed by the Government’s decision to remove the control prices imposed on several goods including milk powder.
The All Ceylon Canteen Owners’ Association (ACCOA) decided to suspend the sale of milk tea from yesterday due to the increase in the milk powder prices.
Stating that taking into consideration the current price of milk powder, the price of a cup of milk tea should at least be Rs. 80, the Association said it has been decided to suspend the sale of milk tea as consumers will not be able to afford such a high price.
Despite the price hike, Sri Lanka is currently facing a shortage of milk powder, with milk powder importers stating that the current shortage could continue for another one or two months.
They pointed out that this was due to the difficulties in issuing letters of credit (LCs) for importing milk powder and delays in transportation. (NewsWire)