The Consumer Affairs Authority has issued a new Gazette Extraordinary setting maximum retail prices for canned fish, raising the ceilings across all three fish types it regulates. The order takes effect on Saturday, September 5.
The notification, Order No. 97 under Section 20(5) of the Consumer Affairs Authority Act No. 9 of 2003, was published as Gazette Extraordinary No. 2504/86 dated September 4 and signed by CAA Chairman Hemantha Samarakoon.
The new ceilings
| Type | 155g can | 425g can |
|---|---|---|
| Tuna | Rs. 220 | Rs. 510 |
| Mackerel | Rs. 240 | Rs. 540 |
| Jack mackerel | Rs. 260 | Rs. 600 |
The order names the species covered in each band — tuna as Katsuwonus pelamis, Auxis rochei, Euthynnus affinis and Auxis thazard; mackerel as Scomber scombrus, Scomber japonicus and Scomber australasicus; and jack mackerel as Decapterus russelli.
Each price band is defined by two weights, not one. The lower band applies to a can with a net weight of 155g and a drained weight of 105g or above; the upper band to a net weight of 425g and a drained weight of 280g or above. A can that meets the net weight but falls short on drained weight does not fall inside the capped category.
What it replaces
The order rescinds Order No. 95, published in Gazette Extraordinary No. 2462/40 of November 14, 2025. Under that order, NewsFirst reported at the time, a 425g can of tuna was capped at Rs. 380, mackerel at Rs. 480 and jack mackerel at Rs. 560.
Measured against those figures, the tuna ceiling rises by Rs. 130, or about 34 percent — by far the largest of the three. Mackerel rises Rs. 60 (12.5 percent) and jack mackerel Rs. 40 (7.1 percent).
The prohibition binds any “local manufacturer, packer, distributor or trader” from selling, exposing, offering or displaying canned fish above the listed price.
Context
The CAA has been active on canned fish this year on the standards side rather than on price, seizing stock worth Rs. 1.5 million from an unlicensed facility in Pannala in August and acting over SLS certification at Arachchikattuwa in June.
What has not been reported
No other verified newsroom had carried the new gazette at the time of writing, and the CAA has not published a rationale for the increase — whether it reflects raw material or packaging costs, the exchange rate, or the long-running dispute between local packers and importers over undercutting. Nor has it said whether the previous ceilings had become unenforceable in practice. The authority did not indicate what enforcement action will follow from Saturday, or how stock already on shelves at the old prices is to be treated.
