Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis after it got independence from Britain in 1948 when its foreign reserves were nearly empty. The nation is again on the verge of collapsing. Two Sri Lanka newspapers have stopped printing newspapers due to the unavailability of paper. Upali newspapers and The Island daily English language newspaper will be only available online. Many other newspaper organizations have limited their pages due to rising costs of paper and also because of lack of paper. School exams for almost 4.5 million students have been postponed last week because the authorities were not able to arrange basic facilities like paper and ink. Sri Lanka is facing high inflation of 17.5 percent because the shortage of dollar had affected all the economic/industrial sectors of the country. 4 people died in the past week due to insanely long waiting for lines to fill up gasoline in vehicles. The energy ministry of Sri Lanka has managed to raise $42 million to import diesel and aviation which was stuck at Columbo port for two weeks because the country did not have any dollars to pay for it. The Sri Lanka government has allowed depreciating rupee and has asked IMF for assistance with their foreign debt. Sri Lankan foreign reserves have decreased from $7.5 billion to $2.4 billion since the new government took charge in 2019. Looking at the current situation, it seems next to impossible for Sri Lanka's economy to rise.
It is ridiculous that inflation is running at a rate of almost 18%. I don't understand how people are dying while waiting in lines for gas. I wonder if it's possible for bordering countries to help Sri Lanka's economy or offering to trade foreign reserves, Sri Lanka needs all the help they can get.
ReplyDeleteIt is very worrisome that the current inflation in Sri Lanka is close to 18%. With what is currently going on in the country, as well as the rest of the world, inflation will most likely continue to rise in the near future. It is very sad how much this crisis is affecting everyone in the country, and it does seem like they may need to look for help in other nations to solve their current economic crisis.
ReplyDeleteThis is major international news and quite concerning for the world's economy at large. Do you believe that this event is being overshadowed by other current events and being underplayed?
ReplyDeleteSince Russia-Ukraine crises everything else has been on the back burner as it is a clear indication of a mega recession upon us!
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