<p>Sri Lanka imposed price controls on key foods Friday as the government stepped up the use of emergency powers to counter shortages.</p>.<p>Queues formed outside state-run supermarkets even before they opened to sell sugar seized from private dealers at less than half the price being charged on the open market 24 hours earlier.</p>.<p>"There is no sugar available elsewhere," moaned K. Perumal, 62, at the Sathosa store in Colombo's Maligawatte area where he waited for his two kilogram (2.2 pound) quota.</p>.<p>"There are small children in my family, we need about six kilos of sugar a month," he told AFP. "I have not been able to find milk at all."</p>.<p>Another shopper, N. Wijeratne said two kilos was not enough but added: "Rationing is good because it will let others also a chance to get some supplies."</p>.<p>The government, which declared a state of emergency this week, imposed a maximum price of 125 rupees (62 US cents) for a kilo of sugar and 95 rupees for a kilo of white rice.</p>.<p>Authorities said that more than 32,000 tonnes of sugar were found in raids on private warehouses carried out on Wednesday and Thursday.</p>.<p>But there have also been sharp price rises for onions and potatoes, while milk powder, kerosene oil and cooking gas are also in short supply.</p>.<p>Only government stores have been opening because of a nationwide coronavirus lockdown that the government on Friday extended for one week.</p>.<p>Experts have blamed the food crisis on a shortage of foreign exchange to import and maintain stocks.</p>.<p>The government, which is also short of cash to service its foreign debt, has insisted the shortages are a result of traders profiting from pandemic restrictions.</p>.<p>"What we see is not a genuine shortage," Foreign minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris told a press conference on the food emergency. "It is an artificial shortage created by a few."</p>.<p>Junior finance minister Nivard Cabraal said only a handful of items were in short supply, adding: "We have ample food stocks for the foreseeable future".</p>.<p>However, several produce and pharmaceutical traders told AFP they had difficulty accessing foreign exchange to finance imports.</p>.<p>The pandemic has badly hit Sri Lanka' tourism dependent economy which shrank by a record 3.6 percent in 2020.</p>.<p>The government last year banned imports of vehicles and other items, including edible oils and the widely used spice turmeric in a bid to save foreign currency.</p>
<p>Sri Lanka imposed price controls on key foods Friday as the government stepped up the use of emergency powers to counter shortages.</p>.<p>Queues formed outside state-run supermarkets even before they opened to sell sugar seized from private dealers at less than half the price being charged on the open market 24 hours earlier.</p>.<p>"There is no sugar available elsewhere," moaned K. Perumal, 62, at the Sathosa store in Colombo's Maligawatte area where he waited for his two kilogram (2.2 pound) quota.</p>.<p>"There are small children in my family, we need about six kilos of sugar a month," he told AFP. "I have not been able to find milk at all."</p>.<p>Another shopper, N. Wijeratne said two kilos was not enough but added: "Rationing is good because it will let others also a chance to get some supplies."</p>.<p>The government, which declared a state of emergency this week, imposed a maximum price of 125 rupees (62 US cents) for a kilo of sugar and 95 rupees for a kilo of white rice.</p>.<p>Authorities said that more than 32,000 tonnes of sugar were found in raids on private warehouses carried out on Wednesday and Thursday.</p>.<p>But there have also been sharp price rises for onions and potatoes, while milk powder, kerosene oil and cooking gas are also in short supply.</p>.<p>Only government stores have been opening because of a nationwide coronavirus lockdown that the government on Friday extended for one week.</p>.<p>Experts have blamed the food crisis on a shortage of foreign exchange to import and maintain stocks.</p>.<p>The government, which is also short of cash to service its foreign debt, has insisted the shortages are a result of traders profiting from pandemic restrictions.</p>.<p>"What we see is not a genuine shortage," Foreign minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris told a press conference on the food emergency. "It is an artificial shortage created by a few."</p>.<p>Junior finance minister Nivard Cabraal said only a handful of items were in short supply, adding: "We have ample food stocks for the foreseeable future".</p>.<p>However, several produce and pharmaceutical traders told AFP they had difficulty accessing foreign exchange to finance imports.</p>.<p>The pandemic has badly hit Sri Lanka' tourism dependent economy which shrank by a record 3.6 percent in 2020.</p>.<p>The government last year banned imports of vehicles and other items, including edible oils and the widely used spice turmeric in a bid to save foreign currency.</p>