State-run retailer Lanka Sathosa had accumulated losses of Rs. 22,000 million by the end of 2024, Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe said.
About Rs. 14,000 million of that sum was owed to suppliers, the Minister said. He said the Government had cleared an overdraft of Rs. 5,300 million.
Samarasinghe said Lanka Sathosa had been paying Rs. 30 million to Rs. 40 million a month in interest, or Rs. 480 million a year, which added to the losses.
He said the Government is reducing the amounts owed to suppliers and cutting loss-making operations as part of efforts to rebuild the company.
The Minister said Lanka Sathosa should not be seen only as a state enterprise. “This is the mechanism we have to use, along with the private sector, to control goods prices,” he said.
Lanka Sathosa operates outlets across the island and is used by many households to buy essential goods.
