Deputy Minister Namal Karunaratne has claimed that petrol prices in Sri Lanka could have exceeded Rs. 700 per litre if another government had been in power during the ongoing global conflict.
Speaking to the media following the latest fuel price increase, the Deputy Minister said the government had absorbed substantial financial losses to prevent domestic fuel prices from rising in line with international market prices.
“If another government had been in power, it would not have been possible to prevent petrol prices from exceeding Rs. 700 per litre when the war escalated,” he said.
He said President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had presented supplementary estimates to Parliament to allocate funds to cushion the impact of rising global fuel prices.
Karunaratne acknowledged that the latest increases in petrol and diesel prices would affect farmers and the general public.
He said the government was continuing to bear part of the financial burden to maintain fuel prices at their current levels.
The Deputy Minister also indicated that the upcoming Budget could include measures to provide relief to the public, with discussions underway on taxation and other economic matters.
The remarks follow Ceypetco’s latest price revision, which increased Octane 92 petrol by Rs. 10 to Rs. 424 per litre and Auto Diesel by Rs. 5 to Rs. 397 per litre, effective November 2. (Newswire)
