Eastern Province Governor Anuradha Yahampath said the current dollar deficit in the country should be used as a blessing to promote local products.
The Governor also said that due to the shortage of dollars, all non-essential goods imported to the island will be stopped. She was speaking at the opening of the new CO-OP FRESH outlet constructed under the Kantale Multipurpose Co-operative Society.
Speaking further the Governor said,
"We are talking about a dollar crisis today. Every day since 1977 we have been borrowing and borrowing. As a country we continued to do that. Now because of this dollar crisis we are importing only the essentials. We do not import unwanted items, so we need to improve our local products instead. I see it as a blessing. The COVID-19 pandemic affected the current government's development efforts .It affected every country in the world. But there were protests only in our country. Also, when the country was ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cooperative Sector did a valuable service. Every cooperative society in our province used mobile vehicles to deliver relief goods to the people. We need to further expand this mobile service and market our fresh local products. We should not sell antiques imported from abroad. Instead priority should be given to fresh local produce of our people. ” The Governor further said.
Trincomalee District Parliamentarian Kapila Nuwan Athukorala, Secretary to the Governor L.P. Madanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture Kalamadi Padmaraja, Provincial Commissioner of Cooperatives A.L. M. Azmi and others were also present.
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