Fuel price revision is under high-level review before Sri Lanka’s next IMF installment, as diesel subsidies and cost pricing come under pressure.
Fuel price revision is now under high-level consideration ahead of Sri Lanka receiving the next two loan installments from the International Monetary Fund.
According to reports, attention is being focused on revising domestic fuel prices before the upcoming IMF review process.
Under the agreements reached with the IMF, the Government of Sri Lanka is not expected to sell goods and services at prices that fail to recover actual costs.
Instead, those agreements emphasise that prices should be set in a way that reflects the real cost of supply.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently commented on this issue, stating that the actual price of a litre of diesel is currently around Rs. 720.
However, he said diesel is being provided to consumers in Sri Lanka at a much lower price.
The President also pointed out that the government bears a subsidy of nearly Rs. 100 for every litre of diesel sold.
According to the conditions and agreements linked to the IMF programme, the actual cost must be reflected when setting prices of goods and services.
In this context, sources indicate that authorities are giving special attention to increasing fuel prices before the IMF’s Sri Lanka loan installment review meeting scheduled for the 27th.
Such a move, if implemented, is expected to be linked directly to the government’s commitments under the IMF-supported economic reform programme.
