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Sri Lanka is facing a shortage of diesel as the ongoing economic crisis worsens in the island country, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera said on Thursday.

The Minister told Parliament that the country needs 4,000 metric tonnes of diesel per day, reports Xinhua news agency.

However, the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation is currently only releasing 1,000 to 1,500 metric tonnes a day.

Currently there is no shortage of petrol supply in the country, he said, adding that around 3,000 metric tonnes of petrol has been released on a daily basis, and that a ship carrying 40,000 metric tonnes of petrol arrived in Sri Lanka on Wednesday night.

Sri Lanka has been suffering a diesel shortage since February, which led to hours of daily power cuts.

Finance Minister Ali Sabry said on Wednesday that Sri Lanka only has less than $50 million in usable foreign reserves.