Sri Lanka suffered loss of USD 6.9 mn in fertiliser deal with China

Claiming that it is not possible to regain the amount of USD 6.9 million paid for the stock of organic fertiliser manufactured by the Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co Ltd in China when Mahindananda Aluthgamage was Minister of Agriculture, current Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera said that it should be acknowledged that the country has suffered a loss in this regard, reported Sri Lankan publication The Morning as quoted by ANI.

The loss was disclosed during a media briefing held on Wednesday, as journalists queried the Minister regarding the said amount paid for the stock of organic fertiliser imported from China.

In response to the query, Amaraweera said, “A payment of USD 6.9 million has been made for the Chinese fertiliser ship. Now, there is neither fertiliser, nor money. There is no apparent way to solve this issue either."

"My first attempt was to see if we can get this amount of money back, but it does not seem to be working. We have to accept the fact that our country has suffered a loss,” he said.

Speaking to The Morning at the time, Amaraweera said, “Discussions are currently underway between the company concerned, its local representatives, and Ministry officials with regard to the stock of organic fertiliser that was sent back. However, I have been informed that there are some issues with the court order in this regard."

“The company is producing other types of fertilisers that can be used for cultivation in Sri Lanka. I, as the Agriculture Minister, have requested the company to provide such fertilisers in lieu of the returned stock," Amaraweera said.

"However, the company does not seem to be interested in it. No final decision has been reached yet. Therefore, further discussions will be held between the relevant parties. Let us see, once those discussions are over,” he added.