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Agri Minister upset over delay in rice import ban

14 Sep 2022

  • Finger pointed at Consumer Affairs Authority
  • Amaraweera to publicly reveal ‘disruptors’
  • Cabinet to systematically halt rice imports
BY Buddhika Samaraweera   Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera is purportedly unhappy with the fact that even though he has submitted a proposal to the Cabinet of Ministers to temporarily suspend the importation of rice, the relevant institutions including the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) have not yet taken steps to implement it. Speaking to The Morning, an official of the Agriculture Ministry said: “Amaraweera recently proposed to temporarily suspend the import of rice as there is a sufficient stock of rice in the country, and because the harvesting of the Yala cultivation season has begun. However, the relevant institutions including the CAA have not taken steps to implement the proposal so far.” He said that a total of 512,000 metric tonnes (MTs) of rice had been imported between January and July this year, adding that a huge amount of foreign exchange had been spent on it. However, he said that if that money was used to provide relief including fertilisers and agrochemicals to the local farmers, it would have been possible to revive the agriculture industry, which has seen a setback following the fertiliser ban. “Institutions including the CAA only consider the consumer, but the Ministry has to take farmers into consideration as well. If the farmers stop farming for some reason, we will have to import everything. For that, a large amount of foreign exchange is needed. And, sometimes, even with the required foreign exchange, we will not be able to purchase what we need, as certain countries refuse to sell products,” he said. Speaking further, he said that Amaraweera is unhappy that the relevant institutions have not taken steps to implement the decision to suspend the import of rice. He also said that in the coming days, Amaraweera is going to make a statement revealing all the parties who are disrupting the decision to suspend the import of rice. Noting that the harvesting of the Yala season has commenced now, the Ministry recently stated that due to the further importation of rice, certain rice mill owners may buy paddy from farmers at cheaper prices. In order to provide the farmers with a fair price for the paddy, the Ministry has planned to suspend the importation of rice until December. A Cabinet proposal in this regard had been submitted by Amaraweera last month. Meanwhile, speaking during the Cabinet media briefing held yesterday (13), Co-Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Ramesh Pathirana stated that it has been decided during the Cabinet discussion held on Monday (12) to systematically stop the importation of rice to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's agriculture sector, mainly paddy cultivation, has suffered a major setback since April, 2021, with the ban on chemical fertilisers and agrochemicals. Since then, farmers have been charging that they have not been able to get the expected harvest, despite the use of organic fertilisers provided by the Government. Given this situation, the Government allowed the importation of rice, and the Agriculture Minister at the time, Mahindananda Aluthgamage said that he personally opposed the Government's decision to import rice as the move could reduce the price paid for paddy farmers.


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