Srilanka, Feb. 1 -- The Local Coconut Oil Producers allege that coconut oil importers have defrauded the Government of about Rs. five billion in taxes.

Representatives of the Local Coconut Oil Producers Association (LCOPA) revealed this at a media conference held in Colombo recently.

An 18percent of VAT is levied on locally produced coconut oil, but this VAT is not levied on imported coconut oil. Therefore, the price of locally produced coconut oil is higher than the price of inferior imported coconut oil. They emphasised that this is unfair to both the local coconut oil producer and the consumer.

They revealed that the Coconut Development Board has also planned to ban the transportation of only locally produced coconut oil by bowsers...