Slump in consumer goods imports shows glimpse of household misery, wild turn in lifestyles 

The sheer magnitude of the slump in imports of consumer goods this year offers a glimpse to how the unravelling economic crisis has had upended the purchasing patterns of consumers and the depths to which they are forced to cut back on their consumption.
The data available through the first ten months of the year showed that the imports of consumer goods had fallen by as much as 24.8 percent over the same period last year, with food and beverage imports declining by 0.9 percent while the non-food consumer goods slumping 43.2 percent over the same period last year.

Sri Lanka spent US$ 2,348.8 million for consumer goods imports in the 10 months through October of which US$ 1,347.0 million was on food and beverages. Except for the imports categorised under cereal and milling industry products which soared from US$ 31.4 million to US$ 357.1 million, and spice imports which rose by a little, all other categories suffered declines with dairy products slumping by as much as 35.5 percent to US$ 189.4 million. 
Sri Lankans were deprived of consuming milk powder, first due to the widespread shortages, which caused long queues and then by more than threefold increase in the shelf price of the product within a couple of months.

The persistent dollar crunch and then the slump in demand caused by the surge in prices of milk powder led to less imports by milk powder importing companies in 2022. 
And those who tout themselves as local milk producers who are often heard in calling for outright ban on imported goods to pave the way for domestic industrialisation were quick to jack up the prices of their products to match the imported milk powder prices. 
To fight runaway inflation caused by the botched rupee float and the strong demand conditions, the Central Bank hiked interest rates by the most in history as part of its broader demand destruction policies from April this year. 

Complementing the tight monetary policy, the government also imposed restrictions on imports which were deemed as non-essential and non-urgent. In addition, the government imposed new taxes, hiked existing taxes and cut public spending heavily resulting in lower demand for goods and services and thereby imports. These highly restrictive policies, though required to arrest the spiralling inflation, dealt a lethal blow to households and small businesses, pushing them into severe economic hardships.  
Besides the slump seen in dairy products imports, imports of vegetables, sea food, sugar and confectionery, and everything else categorised under other food and beverages fell in varying proportions during the 10-month period. 
Meanwhile, non-food imports suffered the most with such imports coming in at just over a billion dollars compared to a little under US$ 1.8 billion in the corresponding 
period in 2021.

For instance, medical and pharmaceutical imports fell by a sharp 37 percent to US$ 434.4 million.
Home appliances, clothing accessories, telecommunication devices, and other household furniture items fell by between 25 percent to 82 percent during the first 10 months of 2022 over the same period in 2021. 
Meanwhile, it was recently reported that Sri Lanka has sent over 300, 000 people for foreign employment so far this year. Though the minister in-charge of foreign employment facilitation sees this as an achievement, what it really shows is the desperation of people to leave the country to escape economic hardships.