Govt urged to impose price control on bottled water

The Central Province Natural Bottled Water Manufacturers Association’s Chairman, Jayantha Wijesekera called on the Government to impose a price control on bottled drinking water, citing a market mafia that sells these products to consumers at four times the production cost.

He claimed that while manufacturers release bottled water to the market with minimal profit margins, retailers are selling them with a markup of about 150 percent.

Speaking at a press conference held in Peradeniya recently, Wijesekera pointed out that a 500ml bottle of water is currently sold at Rs. 100 in the market, although it could be sold for Rs. 70 at a reasonable profit. Similarly, a litre of water sold at Rs. 120 could be sold for Rs. 100, and a 1.5-litre bottle sold at Rs. 160 could be reduced to Rs. 130. He added that a 5-litre water can, which is sold for Rs. 400-450, could be priced at Rs. 300 by producers. However, multinational companies dominating the industry are preventing this reduction, as their mafia controls the market. If the Government steps in to impose a price control, this issue could be resolved, he emphasised.

Wijesekera also noted that many consumers believe it is more reasonable to buy a king coconut than to spend Rs. 100 on a 100ml bottle of water.

He also mentioned that, except for the Colombo and Nuwara Eliya districts, water kiosks known as ‘RO Treated Water’ are operating in all other districts, selling water at Rs. 2-3 per litre. He claimed that current regulations do not apply to these vendors. Wijesekera requested the Government to impose price controls on bottled water, stating that State institutions could save billions of rupees by lowering the cost of bottled water purchased for official events and meetings.

Secretary of the association, Udaya Dissanayake remarked that the Government had previously imposed price controls on bottled water. However, following the economic crisis, the control was lifted, leading to varying prices set by different companies. As a result, consumers under financial strain are moving away from purchasing bottled water. Dissanayake stated that they had submitted written requests to the former President and the Trade Minister to reinstate price controls but received no response.

Dissanayake criticised rice mill owners, bakery associations, and egg producers for seeking the removal of price controls to sell their products at higher prices, while his association was advocating for lower prices to benefit the public.

He also highlighted that the bottled water industry, registered under the Health Ministry, includes around 300 companies, providing employment to nearly 500,000 people. This industry needs to be protected, especially as tourism, a major foreign exchange earner for the country, is impacted by overpriced and substandard water bottles sold to tourists, causing them significant inconvenience.

The Central Province representative of the association, Sapumal Kumara added that producers like them incur production costs of Rs. 25-30 per bottle, and although they sell these bottles to shops at Rs. 20, some vendors with no adherence to standards are flooding the market with substandard products, damaging the industry. He called on the Government to address this issue urgently.

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