Sri Lanka’s fuel import costs surge nearly six-fold amid ongoing Middle East conflict - President

Added: 2026-05-17

[00:00:00]A special district coordinating committee meeting was held this afternoon at the Nuwara Eliya District Secretariat to review the progress of resettling people in the district who had lost their residences following Cyclone Ditwa. The meeting attended by President Ranil Wickremesinghe also focused on the process of releasing lands required for resettlement.

[00:00:22]The economy is being managed carefully to ensure the country does not fall back into a crisis. To achieve this, strict financial discipline and adherence to economic conditions are essential. At the same time, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has created several economic pressures in the country, particularly on fuel imports. Sri Lanka only spent $98 million on fuel imports in February. That figure rose sharply to $216 million in March and $368 million in April. While the projected fuel import cost for May stands at $522 million. Accordingly, the country's fuel import expenditure has increased nearly sixfold. This poses a significant challenge for economic management. The Petroleum Corporation stated that the cost of a liter of diesel is estimated at around 720 rupees. However, it is sold at the 392 rupees. Government is effectively absorbing costs of nearly 100 rupees per liter. The CPC bearing a loss of 492 rupees. It is essential that those losses be recovered. The Treasury has already taken on the corporation's past debts worth 84 billion rupees.

[00:01:33]Therefore, authorities cannot allow these losses to continue due to inefficiency as it would further burden the Treasury. The increase in fuel-based generation cost has impacted electricity tariffs. However, the Treasury cannot indefinitely fund both the Petroleum Corporation and the Electricity Board, which necessitates their efficient management, ensuring benefits for the people. We are dealing with all of these pressures.

[00:01:57]>> all of these pressures