Colombo: The Sri Lankan government had foreign exchange reserves of Rs 750 crore in 2019. This is down from Rs 280 crore in July 2021. As the foreign exchange reserves declined, so did the value of the Sri Lankan currency. Last year alone, the Sri Lankan rupee depreciated by 8 percent. As a result, Sri Lanka is facing a financial crisis with insufficient foreign exchange reserves. As a result, there is a lack of funds to buy even imported fuel.
Despite the Indian government’s help in providing petroleum products, Sri Lanka has not been able to cope with the situation. In this context, the country’s Energy Minister Udaya Kamanpila said, “Today (yesterday) 2 ships do not even have enough foreign exchange to buy imported fuel. As a result, there is a severe fuel shortage in the country and there is a long queue of motorists at petrol retail outlets across the country, ”he said.