A shortage of milk powder could arise in the country in future, Puredale Ltd Chairman Lakshman Weerasuriya said.

He said that this will be inevitable since Imports and Exports Controller General Damayanthi S. Karunaratne has detained 15 containers at the Colombo Port for 25 days without taking any decision.

“The agencies that supplied us with this milk powder are telling us to reship these stocks to Vietnam and Indonesia. If we do that, the country will go through a shortage of milk powder. We already have to pay over Rs.4 million as demurrages,” he said.

He alleged that the main reason for the increase in the prices of essential items is the inefficiency of the officials.

“It takes between 37 and 42 days for a ship to arrive with milk powder. By the time these essential materials arrive in the country, three or four different circulars will be issued. There is one rule before loading the goods on the ship, another rule when the goods are on the way and another rule when the ship finally arrives in Sri Lanka,” he said.