The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) has written to Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake on the dispute between Shell and Laugfs over Ceylon Petroleum Corporation supplied liquid petroleum gas and requested that he summons a meeting of all stakeholders to work out a fair settlement.

Annexing a copy of a presentation made to it by the concerned parties, the chamber has said that assuming the information supplied is accurate, several members of its affiliated associations "may be unfairly disadvantaged by the purported agreement" made by Karunanayake’s ministry.

The chamber however has made clear that it has not independently verified the accuracy of the presentation made to it.

"Whilst expressing our total support for the many laudable initiatives taken by you, to improve the living standards of the community by reducing the cost of living within a framework of effective consumer protection, we urge you to review any steps taken if they place legitimate business enterprises at a disadvantage," Mr. Chandra Jayaratne, Chairman of the CCC said.

Jayaratne urged Karunanayake to summon a meeting of all connected stakeholders in this dispute and persuade the parties to accept a fair and equitable agreement in the interest of promoting the country as an attractive trade and investment destination.