Signs of imported vehicle prices rising due to the Iran crisis

The Sri Lanka Vehicle Importers' Association points out that if the Iranian crisis continues in this manner, there is a severe risk of vehicle prices in the country, as well as the prices of all other goods, increasing.

International shipping and insurance costs have already increased significantly, and due to the reduction in ship voyages (such as the number of ships normally arriving decreasing from 10 to 5), importers have had to pay more than the usual amount for the limited space available. Furthermore, they emphasize that the global fuel crisis created by the war situation and the depreciation of the Sri Lankan Rupee against the US Dollar will also severely impact the vehicle trade in the future.

Speaking at a special press conference held yesterday (25) regarding the current situation, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, stated that there is no expectation to limit vehicle imports to the country at this moment due to the Iranian war. However, vehicle importers say that the final decision on this rests with the Ministry of Finance. The Central Bank Governor, who stated that it is not possible to accurately predict at this time how the Middle East crisis will affect the country's import process, also revealed that the Sri Lankan Rupee has depreciated by approximately 1.6 percent against the US Dollar since the start of this war situation. The Central Bank also pointed out that many other major currencies in the world have collapsed in the face of this global crisis.