Cash-starved Sri Lanka to end fuel duopoly to ease shortages

People wait in a queue after receiving tokens to buy petrol due to fuel shortage, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

COLOMBO (Reuters) -Sri Lanka will allow companies from oil-producing countries to import and sell fuel, the power and energy minister said on Tuesday, ending a duopoly as it tries to overcome a shortage of petrol and diesel that is exacerbating an economic crisis.

The Cabinet decision came as the minister, Kanchana Wijesekera, headed to Qatar and a ministerial colleague was due to arrive in Russia on Sunday for talks on energy deals.