Sri Lanka President calls for less consumption of imported goods and fuel use

Tourist arrivals have dropped by 29 per cent compared with April, Dissanayake said.He added that remittances from Sri Lankan expats overseas had also dropped in a worsening situation where the fuel bill had risen due to rupee depreciation.We must, in the short term, control this pressure from the rising dollar.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Wednesday called for less use of fuel and reduced consumption of imported goods as a measure to check the Rupee's slide against the USD.

Speaking at the eastern district of Batticaloa, Dissanayake said all countries are adversely affected by the ongoing war in West Asia.

''We have managed the economy well so that we can face this crisis. We have rupees in the treasury to face it.''.

''We are facing a crisis with a depleting rupee against the dollar. The dollar has gained, putting pressure on the rupee,'' Dissanayake, who is also the finance minister, said.

The government told parliament on Tuesday that the local rupee had depreciated by over 4.8 per cent since the beginning of the year.

The rupee par value to the USD stood at 309.98 in January. Today's Central Bank rates saw a buying rate at 332.08 and a selling rate of 342.07.

This was due to the external shock in the form of rising energy costs due to the US attacks against Iran, the government claimed.

''Tourism, one of our main sources for USD inflows, has been hit. Tourist arrivals have dropped by 29 per cent compared with April,'' Dissanayake said.

He added that remittances from Sri Lankan expats overseas had also dropped in a worsening situation where the fuel bill had risen due to rupee depreciation.

''We must, in the short term, control this pressure from the rising dollar. For this, we must reduce fuel consumption''.

Dissanayake said attention must be given to minimize imports volume in order to stop the dollar outflow.