Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka says the government was compelled to increase domestic fuel prices due to the rise in global crude oil prices amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
He said the cost incurred by the government for fuel imports has increased by approximately 50% this year compared to last year.
The Minister made these remarks while speaking on TV Derana's “360°” programme last night (02).
Commenting on the fuel price increase, he said some of the proposals put forward by the Opposition were not practical.
In particular, he noted that the Opposition had questioned why fuel could not be sold to consumers at the same price at which it is imported into the Port. However, he said no country in the world follows such a pricing mechanism.
The Minister further stated that the government had allocated Rs. 57 billion for fuel subsidies to provide relief to the public in the face of rising fuel prices.
However, given the approximately 50% increase in fuel import costs compared to last year, the government was unable to completely reduce fuel prices or provide further substantial relief, he added.
Speaking further, Energy Minister Anura Karunathilaka said:
"With the significant increase in global fuel prices, we were compelled to increase fuel prices in Sri Lanka as well. This unusual price increase was caused by the conflict in the Middle East, a situation beyond our control.
"Some of the proposals put forward by the Opposition are not practical. The Opposition Leader frequently asks why fuel cannot be sold to consumers at the same price at which it is brought into the Port. However, I have never heard of any country in the world following such a system.
"As I mentioned earlier, reducing taxes and providing subsidies amount to the same thing. Therefore, at the very outset of this issue, the government allocated Rs. 57 billion to provide fuel subsidies.
"The cost of importing fuel into our country has increased by approximately 50% compared to last year. This means the issue is still ongoing. Therefore, this is not the time to completely ease these measures."
