• It was decided to prepare a list of suppliers and carry out raids

By Yohan Perera   

Government has decided to carry out an operation to raid cement suppliers and recover hidden stocks, State Ministry of Rural Housing Construction and Building Materials Industries Promotion said yesterday. 

This decision was made during a meeting which the State Minister of Rural Housing Construction and Building Materials Industries Promotion Indika Anuruddha had with the stake holders of cement industry and the officials of the Consumer Affairs Authority last morning.

It was decided to prepare a list of suppliers and carry out raids. In addition steps will be taken by the state ministry, Finance Ministry and the Consumer Affairs Authority to see that cement is sold at a fair price. The State Minister said some of the suppliers are hiding stocks in order to jack up prices. However it was revealed that there was a shortage of 100,000 Metric tons in the market. Total monthly stocks which Sri Lanka needs is 500,000 metric tons.