Continuing Dollar Crisis – Essentials in penance at Colombo Port

Importers say about 1,000 containers of essential goods are stranded at the port due to a shortage of dollars.

Most of the containers contain sugar, large onions, potatoes, anchovies, dried fish, coriander and other spices imported from India, and some of the containers are at risk of contamination, importers said.

An importer said that the release of containers was slow due to the shortage of dollars and that the containers were accumulating and new containers were being added rather than the number of containers being released.

The importers further said that although the government promised to release the dollars to free the containers, it was not so provided.

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