Prima Ceylon (Pvt) Ltd has raised the price of its “Milk” brand wheat flour by Rs. 5 per kilogram with effect from Wednesday, citing higher transportation costs after recent fuel price increases.
A kilogram of Prima wheat flour, previously priced at Rs. 220, will now retail at Rs. 225, the company said.
The All Ceylon Bakery Owners’ Association has indicated bread and other bakery products will not be repriced despite the cost pressure. Association President N.K. Jayawardena said retail bakery prices will hold for now even with higher input costs, NewsFirst reported.
Wheat flour is one of the most widely consumed staple inputs in Sri Lanka, used in bread, roti, hoppers, string hoppers, biscuits and bakery items across the country. Prima Ceylon is the dominant flour miller, operating one of the largest single-site flour mills in South Asia at the Trincomalee port.
The price revision adds to consumer pressure already building from the recent fuel price hike and follows several months of rising input costs in the food supply chain. Transport costs feed directly into milled flour pricing because of inland distribution from Trincomalee to bakeries and retail outlets nationwide.
The bakery sector last raised prices in stages during the 2022–2023 inflation cycle, with the current freeze on retail bakery prices providing temporary relief for households even as upstream costs rise.
