Garvin Karunaratne  

I enclose a 2010 writeup on what we did  achieve in the Marketing Department. Perhaps this may move our Prime Minister to Act to establish a Marketing Department today. 

[ Price fixing]
* Prices at main producer fairs closely monitored
* Prices vary on quantities coming in
* Prices informed by telegram and telephone
* Floor prices offered with establishment of canning industry
* Marketing Department exported canned pineapple

Working in trade required dependable and trusted officers. In addition there were around a dozen Marketing Officers. Kulasingham was at the Colombo wholesale market and the others were all in charge of the internal units. We had around eight cold rooms where we could store vegetables and my office staff was housed over the cold rooms. It comprised one Chief Clerk and some eight clerks and though their duty was confined to paperwork I would drag one of them to attend to the work of a Marketing Officer whenever necessary.

There was always a never-ending train of people who came to purchase vegetables. There were friends who would come to purchase goods and also call on me, whom I had to greet and entertain, at least by being with them for some time, inviting them to sit in my room and always something or other cropped up for me to leave them because there was always a problem that required immediate personal attention.

Consumer fairs

Fixing prices for the next day’s purchases was done by me, based on the prices prevalent at the wholesale market in Colombo, the prices at the main Fairs in the island as reported by the outstation Assistant Commissioners. The prices at all main producer fairs like Embilipitiya, Colombage Ara, Kekirawa, Welimada, Bandarawela were closely monitored, as well as the prices at the consumer fairs in Colombo, Kandy and other cities.

Competition among traders will result in stable prices.

The problem was that the prices varied even during the day depending on the quantities that came in. We always tried to fix a price above the prices reported at the producer fairs, if our margin often to fifteen percent enabled us to sell at a price below the Colombo market price. The Assistant Commissioners were informed of the prices by telegram and telephone. Those were days when we had telephones only in District Offices and outstation officers had to wait a long time at post offices to get a call to inform the prices to the Tripoli Market.

At times I would go to the office of the Government Agent as his phone always got priority and the telephone exchange would connect me at once. I can also recall the telephone I had at my Ambalantota Office where when I wanted a telephone call I had to wind my phone endless to get through to the postmaster at Ambalantota. Thereafter I had to wait for hours to get a connection. In today’s mobile telephone situation it would be very easy to work the system.

Tripoli Market

Deciding on the price to purchase goods was a hard task. We had to purchase islandwide and we were never certain whether we would be able to cover up transport and handling costs. The Assistant Commissioners in the Districts could use their discretion to increase or decrease prices, in keeping with availability. Tripoli Market required a minimum quantity and if the producers brought in less quantities to the Fairs our prices had to get adjusted upwards.

If large quantities were brought the prices had to get adjusted downwards because otherwise we would have to purchase a quantity that we cannot handle. It was a quick decision that had to be made and we had to face the consequences. There was no time to write down reasons and I wonder how the COPE Audits would have taken up the matter.

At times on certain consignments we incurred a loss, that had to be covered by a profit on the next day. It was a case of walking on a single tight rope. We dared and generally acquitted ourselves creditably well. Commissioner Fernando was a Chartered Accountant and every move by the Assistant Commissioners was under close surveillance. He kept in touch with the staff and would guide us in a most masterly manner. Trade was in his veins and gradually we learned the art of deciding the right price.

Working in charge of Tripoli Market was demanding at all times and I was happy when after a year’s time I got posted to Anuradhapura. The entire Marketing Department, involved other activities like the purchase of paddy under the Guaranteed Price Scheme for paddy and other cereals and Rice Milling. On the whole there was a total staff of around 3,000. We had a very efficient Transport Officer in Fonseka. A hundred lorries were on the incessant move.

The canning factory

The Marketing Department established a full fledged Canning Factory in the Fifties where we did experiments in processing fruits into jam and juice. Sri Lanka was then importing large stocks of jam and juice from Australia and the aim was to make jam and juice to enable us to stop imports. Under Alles and Pathmaperuma, the canning factory became fully functional. We tried various fruits. We even purchased guavas from the guava belt in Balangoda to Belihul Oya – where guavas grew wild. With the establishment of this canning factory the Department was able to offer Floor Prices for items like pineapples, ash pumpkin and red pumpkin.

A Floor Price meant that we purchased the total stock offered. Red pumpkin was the base to make golden melon jam and ash pumpkin the base to make silver melon jam. The producers of these varieties benefited from the floor prices because we would purchase their entire stock. As a result we became self sufficient in all jam, jelly and fruit juice. The fruit juice was orange. Today my blood boils to see the shelves of supermarkets full of orange juice from California!

My mind raves with the loss of production, the unemployment our people suffer and the loss of our valued foreign exchange in imports. Down came the IMF axe of privatization and the canning factory was privatized. Floor prices are no more for the producers.

Today in the remote areas pineapples, red and ash pumpkin cannot be sold at all during the season. They fetch very low prices. Many a producer has told me that their produce has had to be buried. Silver melon jam and golden melon jam are long forgotten. Imports have taken their place. Today thanks to the UNP and the IMF policies we are creating employment for people in the Developed Countries while our people remain unemployed.

Export trade

The Marketing Department was even successful in establishing an export trade in canned pineapple. Sri Lanka has the Mauritius variety of pineapple which is far tastier than the larger, Nav (Ship) Variety which is produced all over the world. In Hawaii I visited the DelMonte Canning Factory and saw Nav pineapple being canned. Our Marketing Department canning factory can easily stand comparison to the Canning Factory I saw in Hawaii. Our Mauritius pineapple variety is far tastier than the Nav pineapple variety produced in other parts of the world. After the demise of the Marketing Department, exports of pineapple died a natural death – a loss of valuable foreign exchange. The privatized cannery now even imports fruit