Fuel supply to return to normal from today: Minister

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Fuel supply to return to normal  from today: Minister

• 5,000 MT of diesel and 3,500 of petrol would be released to the market from today

By Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera   

Claiming that fuel supply was restricted during the last few days, Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara said the required diesel and petrol would be released to the market from today.  

He told Parliament that the supply of diesel and petrol was limited to 3,200 MTs and 2,800 MTs respectively during the last few days from the daily requirement of 5,400 MT of diesel and 3,400 MT of petrol.   

He said 5,000 MT of diesel and 3,500 MT of petrol would be released to the market from today.   

The Minister said USD 557 million was required to purchase fuel for June and added that India had granted a credit line of USD 700 million for the last three months. “We can purchase fuel from the remaining credit of the Indian credit facility this month. India has also agreed to extend the credit facility by another USD 500 million,” he said.   

He said a fuel shipment was due on June 16 and that the Ministry would purchase another two fuel shipments on June 9 and 10.   

He said a special mechanism would be in place from today to provide diesel to private buses, vehicles related to tourism industry and school services at CTB depots. 

pm says Next three weeks will be a tough time for fuel supply

• PM urges people not to stock fuel
• The country spends $500Mn monthly on fuel

By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana   

Whilst stating that the next three weeks will be a tough time for Sri Lanka with regard to fuel, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in Parliament yesterday urged the people not to stock fuel.  

“The next three weeks will be a tough time for us with regard to fuel. It is time we all must use fuel and gas as carefully as possible. Unessential travel should be limited as much as possible. Therefore, I urge all citizens to refrain from thinking about hoarding fuel and gas during this period

After those difficult three weeks, we will try to provide fuel and food without further disruptions. Negotiations are underway with various parties to ensure this happens. After these difficult three weeks, we are trying to ensure that the shortage of fuel and gas would end. Let’s face these difficult three weeks united and patiently,” Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said, making a special statement.   

“The country spends $500 million per month on fuel. It should be kept in mind that the current global crisis risks raising oil prices. Some estimate that global oil prices will rise by as much as 40% by the end of this year. In this context the idea of introducing a coupon system for fuel cannot be ruled out. Somehow we have to find $3,300 million worth of fuel for the next six months. It costs $40 million a month to import gas. We are currently using multilateral assistance, local currency and Indian loans to import gas. We will require $250 million over the next six months for gas,” the Prime Minister added.   

“We produce some of the food we require locally. The rest are imported. Our harvest has declined in the past several months. We have to face this situation and we have to work hard from this point onwards to ensure the next harvest is a success. That harvest, however, will be available by the end of February 2023. In terms of rice, our country’s annual rice requirement is 2.5 million metric tons. But we have only 1.6 million metric tons of rice in stock. This condition is not only restricted to paddy but many other crops. So, in a few months we will have to face serious difficulties and shortages in terms of our diets. We need to import food items to meet our daily requirements. It costs about $150 million a month,” he also said.   
“Discussions were held with representatives of international organisations such as the United Nations, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Health Organisation.   

Many representatives of these countries and international organisations have agreed to support our country during this difficult time. The United Nations has arranged for a worldwide public appeal on the 9th of June. They are seeking support to provide humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka. Through this project, they plan to provide $48 million over a four-month period to the food, agriculture and health sectors.   

 India, China and Japan are leading the list of countries that provide us with loans and assistance. Relations with these countries, which have always been strong, are now broken. Those relationships need to be rebuilt,” he stressed. 

 
The Prime Minister said Sri Lanka’s GDP growth will be -3.5 percent according to Central Bank and -6.5 percent as per IMF. “In the midst of all this we need to develop plans to raise the average national product. We need to implement those plans. According to the Central Bank, the average GDP growth in 2022 will be -3.5 According to the International Monetary Fund, the situation is even worse. According to them, its growth will be -6.5 percent. The average national output of the global economy will decline next year due to the impact of the war in Ukraine. Recovery is forecast for 2024,” he said in this regard.   

The Prime Minister said arrangements will be made to provide food free of charge to the needy.