'Fix pricing issues, prioritise key crops amid growing food security risks'

Prof. Buddhi Marambe urges embedding uncertainty into pricing as input costs surge; Fertiliser prices jump from $ 450 to $ 810 per tonne amid supply risks; Energy costs seen cascading across production and household consumption; Calls for prioritisation of key crops to balance food security and exports

- 

UNIVERSITY of Peradeniya Senior Prof. Buddhi Marambe called for a fundamental shift in how Sri Lanka calculates and manages agricultural costs, warning that existing frameworks are inadequate to deal with the uncertainty and volatility triggered by the Middle East war.

Speaking at a recent CMA Sri Lanka forum on the impact of the Middle East crisis on Sri Lanka, he said pricing and cost structures must be redesigned to reflect persistent external shocks.

"Costing has to embed the uncertainties that are there," he said, stressing that traditional approaches no longer capture the realities of fluctuating input prices, supply constraints and geopolitical risks.

He said the war has already driven sharp increases in key agricultural inputs. "Global fertiliser costs have increased from $ 450 per tonne to $ 810 within day, and keeps fluctuating," he noted, highlighting the scale of fertiliser price escalation in global markets due to the Middle East conflict.