COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (News Cutter) —Sri Lanka lost $6.9 million in bio-fertilizer after a Chinese company rejected a stock in 2021.
The country paid $6.9 million as compensation to China’s Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Ltd after plant quarantine authorities rejected the stock.
The Auditor General’s report, submitted to the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) in September last year, alleged dereliction of duty by the Agriculture Ministry, State Ministry of Agriculture, Colombo Commercial Fertilizers Ltd, and Ceylon Fertilizer Ltd.
The report was submitted during the time of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government but has not yet been initiated.
The Agriculture Ministry has not properly constituted a committee to probe the incident, and a top official said a committee had been proposed but one member was reluctant to join due to unknown reasons.