President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has disclosed that the actual cost of a litre of diesel is around Rs. 720, while it is being supplied to the public at Rs. 392, with the government and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) absorbing heavy losses.
Speaking at the Nuwara Eliya District Special Coordinating Committee meeting on Wednesday (May 13), the President said Sri Lanka’s oil import bill has risen more than six times between February and May.
Oil imports cost USD 98 million in February, USD 216 million in March, USD 368 million in April, and are projected to reach USD 522 million in May, he said.
“Compared with February, oil imports have increased more than six times,” the President stressed.
He explained that while the government bears Rs. 100 per litre, the Petroleum Corporation receives only Rs. 492, far below the actual Rs. 720 cost, leading to significant losses. Past mismanagement, he said, has left the CPC with a deficit of Rs. 84 billion that has now been transferred to the Treasury.
The President said electricity tariffs have also been affected by rising oil prices. While bills increased by 18%, more than 95% of consumers were shielded from the impact, with only about 5% experiencing higher costs.
He cautioned that the Treasury cannot indefinitely subsidise the Petroleum Corporation and the Ceylon Electricity Board. “They need to be made efficient, and other matters must be managed in ways that benefit the people,” he said.
The remarks expand on the warning he issued at the May Day rally about an imminent fuel price increase, with the new cost-vs-price gap of Rs. 328 per diesel litre significantly wider than the figures cited earlier this month.
