Lanka fears rise in food prices after flooding

"We have a buffer stock of rice that is good for three months. That means there will be no immediate impact on the price of rice, but vegetables are already going up in price”

Sri Lanka warned yesterday that food prices could shoot up after devastating floods in the north and east of the country destroyed rice and vegetable crops.
Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said vegetable prices had already been affected because of the impact on growing areas that were swamped by unusually heavy monsoon rains.
More than a million people were displaced by the floods that began nine days ago and at least 40 people have died.
"We have a buffer stock of rice that is good for three months. That means there will be no immediate impact on the price of rice, but vegetables are already going up in price,” Amaraweera told AFP.
Sri Lanka’s annual inflation rose to 5.9% in December compared to 3.4% a year earlier, with the issue set to figure in local government elections due by March.
Sri Lanka recently began importing chicken and eggs in a bid to stabilise local prices, but the minister said it would not be practical to import vegetables as well.
He said the authorities were still working out the economic cost of the devastating floods, which some local experts have said could amount to $500mn.
The United Nations’ deputy emergency relief co-ordinator Catherine Bragg will visit Sri Lanka tomorrow to launch an international appeal for
funding.
"The purpose of Bragg’s mission is to highlight all humanitarian needs in Sri Lanka, and the UN ongoing commitment in providing humanitarian relief and assistance,” the UN said in a statement.
"During the visit the UN will also launch a Flash Appeal for emergency funds to respond to the flood crisis.”
The UN has warned that mines left over from Sri Lanka’s separatist war, which ended nearly two years ago, may have shifted during the floods and could pose a threat to relief workers and residents.
The disaster management centre in Colombo said the number of people in state-run relief centres dropped to 58,000 yesterday morning, down from about 240,000 on Sunday.
Water levels have fallen, but the weather office said monsoon conditions would last until mid-February. AFP