Milk power importers staed that they would have to pay an additional surcharge over the delay in getting 12 containers of milk powder released from the Colombo Port.

"We will have to pay this amount to shipping companies for a period of ninety days," a spokeman for the Milk Power Importers association said.

Accordingly, a sum of one hundred and seventy rupees has to be paid to release one kilogram of milk powder from the port.

Weerasuriya says that even after increasing the price of milk powder by Rs. 200 per kilogram, it is not possible to pay Rs. 1145 per kilo.

The association emphasizes that no party will intervene to talk about these issues. The union also said that the delay in releasing the milk powder from the port could lead to spoilage and that if the release of the milk powder was further delayed, the milk powder companies would have to be informed to take action to divert the milk powder to Indonesia or Bangladesh.