The government has drawn up an action plan to explore alternate markets for imported essential foods should the El Niño weather pattern disrupt supply, the Daily Mirror reported.
Environment Minister Dammika Patabendi, who heads the special Cabinet Subcommittee and the officials’ committee on El Niño, said no shortfall in essential supplies would occur during the remainder of this year, but that a plan had been prepared for any eventuality next year.
“I met my Indian counterpart on the sidelines of an international event in Mongolia. At the moment, there is no issue in India where we import our food items mostly from,” he said. “We look at alternate markets in case any shortage happens due to weather-related reasons next year. We will also look at substitutes too.”
Which items are exposed
Sri Lanka is close to self-sufficient in rice, its staple. On the strength of El Niño forecasts, agriculture authorities have decided to advance the next cultivation season so that crops draw on rainwater rather than irrigation storage — a direct response to the reservoir position, with national storage reported at 33.6 per cent of capacity.
The exposure is in imports. The commodities named are lentils including dhal, sugar, canned fish, potatoes, big onions, wheat flour, dried chilli and some spice varieties. Dhal is sourced from Australia and Canada depending on crop seasons, with India the main supplier across the import basket.
A spokesman for the Essential Food Commodities Importers’ and Traders’ Association confirmed no issue would arise this year, but said nothing could be predicted for the future given the adverse weather expected. He said world market prices had already risen — sugar by US$120 to US$150 a tonne — and asked the government to lift the ban on canned fish imports.
That request is the one concrete point of friction in the account, and neither the minister nor the report addresses it.
Opposition calls for a shift to preparedness
Separately, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said El Niño had become a “100 per cent certainty” according to international climate organisations, and called for stronger disaster preparedness, the Daily Mirror reported.
Premadasa, who is also Co-Chairman of the Parliamentary Caucus on Climate Change, said Sri Lanka must move from responding to disasters after they occur to acting on early warnings.
“Sri Lanka has traditionally focused on responding after a disaster strikes. There must be a paradigm shift towards mitigation and preparedness whenever an early warning is issued about an impending disaster,” he said.
His “100 per cent” framing is stronger than the Meteorology Department’s own published figure, which puts the probability of a strong El Niño at 98 per cent within three months. The department has described the developing event as potentially the strongest in 75 years.
The split picture on the ground
The planning is happening against genuinely contradictory conditions. More than 160,000 people across eight districts are affected by drought, with 487 of roughly 800 tanks dried up in Moneragala — while on the same day the Disaster Management Centre was managing flash flooding in Kandy District and a heavy-rain advisory covering five provinces. Wildlife authorities have warned that more national parks may close if the heat persists.
A Cabinet subcommittee on El Niño has been running since early September, when it was tasked with assessing job losses.
Not reported
The Daily Mirror does not say what the action plan actually commits the government to, which alternate markets have been identified, what substitutes are contemplated, or whether any buffer stock is being built. It does not give the date or name of the Mongolia event at which Patabendi met his Indian counterpart, or which Indian minister that was. It does not say why canned fish imports are banned, how long the ban has run, or whether the government is considering the traders’ request to lift it. Neither report gives a timeframe or cost for any measure, and neither carries a response from the Agriculture or Trade ministries.
Premadasa does not specify which international climate organisations he is citing, and his office did not give the venue or occasion for his remarks. No other verified newsroom had filed on either statement at the time of writing.
