Sri Lanka has announced a 40% price hike on commonly used medicine on Saturday.

The price hike directive applies to 60 medicines in short supply in the island nation, where hospitals have already cancelled routine surgeries owing to the unavailability of anaesthetics.

Sri Lanka's health minister Channa Jayasumana said that antibiotics, non-prescriptive painkillers, and medications for heart conditions and diabetes will be subject to the price hike.

This is the second pharmaceutical price hike in Sri Lanka in the past 6 weeks - a 30% increase was implemented mid-March.

Industry officials called the latest hike necessary to offset the impact of fuel prices that have risen since December.

Official figures show Sri Lanka's inflation rate is at nearly 30% in April.

Sri Lankan citizens have been protesting and calling for the government's resignation in the wake of lengthy blackouts and food, fuel, and medicine shortages in the country.