Sri Lanka’s new Minister of Finance, Basil Rajapaksa has appointed five sub-committees to come up with ‘right actions’ to fix the economy, but a fertilizer and agro-chemical ban will stay in place, the state information office said.
Rajapaksa had met Ministers and Members of Parliament.
“There were many arguments and counter – arguments and opinions expressed at the meeting,” the state information office said.
“Subsequently five ministerial sub committees were appointed to devise right action reviewing all ideas and opinions.”
Sri Lanka is suffering severe monetary instability amid record money printing, the worst since money printed in 2018 to target an ‘output gap’.
Economic controls are also being ratcheted up with import controls, exchange controls and price controls being introduced and extended.
However nobody had objected to a chemical fertilizer ban, and it has not been reversed the statement said.
Concerns have been raised that yields will fall after chemical fertilizer was banned amid questions about the efficacy and availability of organic fertilizer.
Farmers are also protesting about fertilizer shortages in the current season.