State Trading Organisation (STO) has begun rationing the sale of onions, potato and eggs following a price hike of the items due to increasing demand.
Speaking to PSM News, Media Official of STO Abdulla Mohamed said the decision to ration was made due to a price increase by private businesses. Hence, he said STO has rationed these items to control sales and keep the items available to the community. He said each customer will be sold one kilo of onions and potatoes and a tray of eggs to ensure the availability of stock to the public.
Onions and potatoes are sold at STO for USD 0.78 per kilo while a tray of 30 eggs is sold at USD 2.92 per tray. Although STO has decided to control the price, the market price of the items have been on the increase with a kilo of onion and potato selling for around USD 2 per kilo, and price of a 30-egg tray ranging between USD 4.86 and USD 5.84.
The market price of an egg case ranges between USD 26 and USD 35.67. While a bag of potatoes is available for between USD 19.7 and USD 32.43, the price of a bag of onions has increased to USD 42.15.
Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail earlier said the ministry will intervene and control price if the market price spikes significantly. The government has been working with STO to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on food availability and supply in the Maldives with STO preparing to store staples for a duration of 10 months.
In efforts to reduce impact, STO has imported 500 tonnes of sugar and 993 tonnes of rice from India.