Ambassador Sarath Wijesinghe President’s Counsel (Former Ambassador to UAE and Israel, Former Chair of the Consumer Affairs Authority) and Miss. B.M. Prineetha Bandaranayake AAL

The Egg Producers Association informed the Court of Appeal on December 15^th that they disagree with the Consumer Affairs Authority’s new prices of Rs.42 rupees for a white egg and Rs.44 rupees for a red egg. This was informed during the hearing of a petition filed against a Gazette Notification issued last August setting a control price for eggs. The Court of Appeal granted the petition and scheduled the next hearing for February 6. In addition, the bench decided to issue an interim order suspending the Consumer Services Authority’s Gazette Notice, issued on August 19, setting a control price for eggs, until the hearing on this petition is completed.

Accordingly, now the price of the egg has taken the centre stage in the pricing index where the egg has become the topic of ordinary consumers who are struggling with the high cost of living. It is known that the prices of all consumer items and services have gone up at an unprecedented scale, unbearable to the ordinary citizen. The egg is no exception to this, being the affordable consumer item in place of meat and fish which are expensive and not accessible to ordinary citizens.

The egg is easy to produce by everybody on large and small scales. Nevertheless, like any other consumer item egg remains monopolized by the errand trader who decides the price of the egg despite rules and regulations about consumerism in Sri Lanka based on the Consumer Affairs Authority Act No. 09 of 2003, enacted on 17^th March 2003 replacing the traditional consumer laws namely Consumer Protection Act No. 37 of 1980, Fair Trading Commission Act No. 57 of 1993 and the Control of Prices Act No. 33 of 1979 which decided and regulated the consumer items, maintenance and the prices based on the pricing of items found in the English Law, which has been the system of governance in Sri Lanka until the introduction of the Consumer Affairs Authority which is a regulatory body with the Chairman and the other regulatory systems.

Now as the system of price control is done away with, it is uncertain who decides the price of the consumer items and the services. It seems that it is regulated by regulatory procedure and in some cases only the Consumer Affairs Authority gives the maximum or minimum prices as shown in Section 18 (1) of the Consumer Affairs Authority Act which stipulates that where the Minister is of opinion that any goods or any service is essential to the life of the community or part thereof, the Minister in consultation with the Authority may by Order published in the Gazette prescribe such goods or such service as specified goods or specified service as the case may be.

In the case of eggs, the Minister has taken steps to introduce indirect price control considering it essential to the citizen’s life. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Trade of Sri Lanka recently, the Minister has advised the officials to grant loans for the egg producers under a minimum interest rate to reduce production costs and has asked the officials to look into the possibility of granting a loan for the egg producers to increase the supply of eggs to the market.  Thus, it appears how complex the situation now is in consumerism and pricing and that the citizen or the consumer is uncertain in all areas and all respects. Unfortunately, the Consumer Affairs Authority Act enacted with a lot of hopes has not been successful in meeting the aspirations of the citizen who is pressed with uncertainty, price increase, and economic downturn.

We had a good system under English Law which was unfortunately replaced by the current law which is smoothly functioning in the UK based on Competition Law and also due to activism of consumer organizations headed by the organization WHICH and other consumer organizations linked worldwide acting as a pleasure group safeguarding the consumer and monitoring the trader. This shows that we require a change of law and the system in parallel with the improvement of the economy which is also a part of the coin. The intention of the legislature was the establishment of the Consumer Affairs Authority for the promotion of effective competition and the protection of consumers for the regulation of internal trade establishment of the Consumer Affairs Council and all matters connected herewith which is the policy of the government to provide for better protection of consumers through the regulation of trade and prices of goods and services and to protect the traders and manufacturers against unfair trade practices, and restrictive trade practices.

Unfortunately, the consumer and the citizen are completely disappointed as the system has not met the requirement of the objectives of the authority to protect consumers against the marketing of goods hazardous to life, protect from unfair trade practices adequate taxes and seek redress against unfair trade practices. The functions of the Consumer Affairs Authority are exhaustive and ambitious, which has not been met, unfortunately by the authority. The main function of the authority is regulation of trade in the interest of the citizen, struggling today from all sectors and all sites. Because the price control system is done away with the trader having the freeway. The egg is only the tip of the iceberg, where the governance, regulation, or those who are responsible are ineffective or unknown of a solution to the issue when the inflation is increasing at an unprecedented rate with the high prices of consumer items, which is almost to be blown off.

Now ordinary citizens have no other way, but to watch with utter disappointment. The organizations, trade unions, consumer associations, and Non-Governmental Organizations are silent with no solutions, no criticism, and no suggestions to the government, also live in the citizens, stray and helpless. Now it is the time to find a solution to this issue of rising prices of consumer items and the economic downturn are two different issues. The government in governance now and before is responsible for economic downturns, which is a collective decision taken by the citizens during successive government changes.

It is known that corruption and bribery are spread like air with no control, and the government in power is indecisive, helpless, and has no control. The decision is with the citizens to change the system. At the same time before changing off any government, at least the current legal structure must be effective and improved to meet the present challenges for which a complete and overall change of legal structure is necessary. We have previously conducted seminars and suggested changes to the Consumer Affairs Authority, which has not been taken into consideration by the government. If no proper steps are taken, an explosion is inevitable At the rate the prices are going up with the inflation.

We as concerned citizens are of the view that this is an area where all the sectors and parties must get together and discuss at lengths aiming at constructive propositions, to be effective and implemented by any government in power all the looking into other areas, such as economy, education, development, and connected areas without looking into any differences, political or otherwise. This current issue of eggs will not last long because of the problems all growing around mobilizing helpless citizens to appoint their leaders. They will not go through this any longer. Therefore, it is time for the governance to take immediate steps to take this egg issue as a warning and remedy it as soon as possible.