Sri Lanka, May 26 -- Price hikes are nothing new. The phenomenon has occurred from time to time over the past several decades. It would be worthwhile if there were a stronger mechanism to protect consumers from such issues. This brings us to the role of the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA).

The CAA has conducted over 7,000 market raids against errant traders since the beginning of the year. The sweeping crackdown targeted unfair trade practices such as price gouging, hoarding essential goods, and selling expired or substandard products. A total of 7,334 islandwide operations were carried out from January to April this year (2026).

The primary offences included selling goods above the Maximum Retail Price (MRP), hiding or hoarding goods,...