Colombo: The economic crisis in Sri Lanka has become a reason to make a fast buck for the dealers of used cars in the country. They are more expensive than a luxury flat in this island nation .
Sri Lanka which is facing one of the worst economic crisis is on the brink of bankruptcy. Inflation is sky rocketing in the country and the Sri Lankan government has banned the import of several non-essential items including cars to save dollars needed to buy food, medicine and fuel. The government imposed a two year ban on new cars’ import in March 2020.
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The ban on the import of cars has pushed up prices for used cars. As per reports, a 5-year-old Toyota Land Cruiser costs 62.5 million rupees in the country. This is triple the pre-ban rate and is enough to buy a house in a middle-class Colombo neighbourhood or even a new luxury apartment in the city centre. A 10-year-old Fiat five-seater with a busted engine, is priced at $8,250, which is more than twice Sri Lankan’s average yearly income.!
The number of taxis in the island nation has also decreased sharply as drivers are selling their vehicles to cash in on the crazy prices.
According to experts, the huge Chinese debt, high government spending, tax cuts leading to erosion of state revenues and record low foreign exchange reserves are the main reasons for the economic crisis of Sri Lanka.
Earlier the Indian government had provided $ 500 million as a loan to Sri Lanka to meet its crude oil needs. India has also agreed to give another $1 billion credit line to fund urgently needed food and medicine imports from India.
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