Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2017-02-14

Controlling of Coconut price fluctuation in the local market

- The Coconut Research Institute has forecasted that there may be a 13.9% drop in the yield during the period from January to August 2017 as against the year 2016 and as a result, it is observed that a further increase in the price of coconuts would occur. As such, short term strategies should be implemented in order to maintain the local coconut price at an optimum level to be favourable for both the coconut growers as well as the coconut based product manufacturers by way of reducing the demand for coconuts available for the local coconut oil production. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Navin Dissanayake, the Minister of Plantation Industries, to revise the special commodity levy of coconut oil, as given below, to enable the import of only 40,000 MT of crude oil requirement for 04 months, was approved by the Cabinet.

* Reducing of the special commodity levy of coconut oil from Rs.150/- to Rs.130/- per kilogram.

* Reducing of the special commodity levy of crude palm oil/coconut oil from Rs.130/- to Rs.110/- per kilogram.

* Reducing of the special commodity levy of palm kernel and purified palm oil from Rs.150/- to Rs.130/- per kilogram.