The Lunuwila Coconut Research Institute (CRI) says that an increase in the coconut harvest is expected in May and June this year compared to the same period in 2024.

Its Chairman, Professor Ajith Jayaweera, stated that a harvest of 477 million coconuts was recorded in 2024 and a harvest of 555 million coconuts is expected in 2025.

He further noted that the price of a coconut in the areas surrounding the Coconut Triangle has stabilized at around Rs.163.

The first shipment of 20,000 MT of salt from India is expected to arrive next week, according to Lanka Salt Ltd. Chairman – T. Nandana Thilaka.

He stated that this shipment will help end the ongoing salt shortage, ensuring consumers can buy salt from the market without difficulty.

The Chairman added that part of the salt ordered by National Salt Ltd. has already been acquired by the company and is being distributed locally to meet demand.

He stated that recent rains have disrupted the salt harvest in Hambantota and other salterns.  

However, with the arrival of the Indian shipment, he plans to sporadically release salt to the market starting next week.

Chairman D. Nandana Thilaka stated that yesterday (May 14), Lanka Salt Ltd. issued 100,000 packets of 400g table salt to Lanka Sathosa, and another 100,000 packets will be issued today (May 15).

President Donald Trump has slashed the tariff on small parcels sent from mainland China and Hong Kong to the US, just hours after the world’s two biggest economies said they would cut levies on each other’s goods for 90 days.

The new tariffs on small packages worth up to $800 (£606) have been cut from 120% to 54%, according to a White House statement.

The flat fee per parcel will remain at $100, while a $200 charge due to apply from 1 June has been cancelled.

Chinese online retail giants Shein and Temu had previously relied on the so-called “de minimis” exemption to ship low-value items directly to customers in the US without having to pay duties or import taxes.

Neither Shein or Temu immediately responded to BBC requests for comment.

The duty-free rule was closed by the Trump administration earlier this month.

Some shoppers told the BBC that they rushed through purchases ahead of that deadline.

The latest rates came after the US and China released a joint statement announcing they would temporarily reduce their tit-for-tat tariffs and start a new round of trade negotiations.

Share markets jumped on Monday after Trump said weekend talks had resulted in a “total reset” in trade terms between the two countries, a move that went some way to ease concerns about a trade war between the two countries.

Under the agreement, the US will lower those tariffs from 145% to 30%, while China’s retaliatory tariffs on US goods will drop to 10% from 125%.

Trump told reporters, that, as some of the levies have been suspended rather than cancelled altogether, they might rise again in three months time, if no further progress was made.

But the president said he did not expect them to return to the previous 145% peak.

“We’re not looking to hurt China,” Trump said after the agreement was announced, adding that China was “being hurt very badly”.

Trump added that he expected to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping “maybe at the end of the week”.

(BBC News)