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Cabinet decision to import 1,000 MT of rice: No order to import rice placed yet

28 Sep 2021

  • Trade Ministry undecided on when to place order, from where, what type
  • Mill owners announce revised prices
By Buddhika Samaraweera Despite the Cabinet of Ministers approval on Monday (27) to import 100,000 metric tonnes (MT) of rice considering the prevailing shortage of rice in the market, the Trade Ministry, which is tasked with importing the stock, is yet to decide on when it would place the orders, from which country it would be ordered from, and what type of rice it would be. When contacted by The Morning to question as to whether the Trade Ministry has decided on a date on which it would place the order for the rice to be imported, the Trade Ministry Secretary Bhadrani Jayawardhana said that such a date has not yet been decided. According to her, the country from which the rice would be imported has also not been decided yet. “We haven't placed the orders yet. Before placing the orders, there is a procedure to be followed, and therefore, we need to look at everything, including the prices.  There are several other matters to consider, and the importation will be done according to that process,” she explained. When questioned whether a decision has been taken regarding the type of rice to be imported, Jayawardhana again said that no such decision has been taken yet. “But the majority of the people in our country consume kekulu and nadu rice,” she noted. However, a few hours before the Cabinet granted its approval for the Trade Ministry to import said amount of rice on Monday, Jayawardhana told The Morning that if the Government decides so, all necessary arrangements have been made to import a consignment of rice as a security stock. Meanwhile, following the removal of price controls on rice, the Large-Scale Mill Owners’ Association has announced revised retail prices for rice. The following prices of three types of rice per kilogramme (kg) were announced by the Association’s Chairman Dudley Sirisena during a media briefing held yesterday (28):
  • Nadu – Rs. 115
  • Samba – Rs. 140
  • Keeri Samba – Rs. 165
The mill owners have also decided to purchase paddy from farmers at the following rates:
  • Nadu – Rs. 62.50 per kg
  • Samba – Rs. 70 per kg
  • Keeri samba – Rs. 80 per kg
Meanwhile, State Minister of Consumer Protection Lasantha Alagiyawanna said that the reason for the revocation of the extraordinary gazette on the maximum retail price (MRP) was in the interests of the consumer.  “A decision to revoke the MRP on rice was made at the cabinet meeting yesterday (27). The reason we made this decision is so that the consumer is protected. We made the decision to import 100,000 MT of rice as well. This was not something we wanted to do, but had to do while thinking of the consumer and not rice mill owners,” said Alagiyawanna during the cabinet press briefing yesterday.  He went on to say that around 800 containers belonging to importers are stuck at the Port and are yet to be cleared, citing the lack of dollars in the country. He clarified that this will be attended to shortly, as the Cabinet of Ministers decided to allocate $ 50 million to assist the importers to get the containers cleared.  When questioned by a journalist whether the imported rice would be organic and suitable for consumption, Alagiyawanna responded by saying that all food imported into the country goes through a stringent audit process and the food controller’s inspections, further stating that all the rice imported into the country would be “healthy”.  “The Ministry of Trade will be co-ordinating the import of this stock of rice, and this transaction will be carried out as a government-to-government deal co-ordinated by the embassies of India and Burma,” he said.  In the past few days, there have been reports of consumers complaining that there is a shortage of rice in all parts of the country, despite the Government having imposed emergency regulations on the supply of essential food items. Consumers had posted on social media platforms, particularly on Facebook, that there was a shortage of keeri samba and samba rice even in supermarkets in certain areas, and that only red nadu and white kekulu rice were available in sufficient quantities. There were also reports that imported basmati rice was available in shops, but that local basmati rice was not available.


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