Former Deputy Leader of the United National Party and Parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake has criticized the government’s failure in the agricultural sector, pointing out that Sri Lanka is now importing salt—a resource the island nation is naturally equipped to produce.
Speaking to the media, Karunanayake expressed concern that despite numerous slogans and promises about revitalizing agriculture, the country has not seen meaningful progress. He highlighted the irony of Sri Lanka, an island surrounded by seawater, having to import salt, a basic commodity.
“We have the ability to produce around 245,000 metric tons of salt annually, and both government and private institutions exist for this purpose,” he said.
Karunanayake emphasized the cost inefficiency of importing salt. According to him, local production costs range between Rs. 35 and Rs. 40 per kilo, whereas imported salt from India costs about Rs. 70 per kilo, including a tax of Rs. 40.
He questioned the logic behind such imports when Sri Lanka already has land, skilled workers, and production facilities for salt manufacturing.
“Why are we spending more to import something we can easily produce ourselves?” he asked, calling for urgent policy attention to strengthen domestic production and reduce unnecessary imports.
