Ice makers have decided to suspend production due to extended hours of power outages.
Nuwanjith Sellahewa, President of the Ice Producers’ Association, said that there are about 120 ice factories islandwide and the number of employees exceeds 3,000.
He said that it would take 24 hours to freeze the ice and that it would take 48 hours to freeze due to the power outage.
He said that although the ice factories were generating electricity, it was not possible to operate the generators at the current diesel prices.
The ice makers have stated that they have no choice but to close the factories as they are unable to pay the wages of the workers due to the disruption of their production activities.