• Rs 7.5 b in interest-free loans extended to small and medium-scale mill owners
• Measures target potential supply disruptions during Nov-Dec rainy season

The Trade, Commerce, Food Security, and Cooperative Development Ministry stated that it is prepared to deal with a possible rice shortage in the market in this November and in December through measures including providing Rs 7.5 billion in interest-free loans to small- and medium-scale mill owners to purchase and store paddy, and releasing rice stocks held by the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) if a shortage develops.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, Deputy subject Minister R M Jayawardena said that the Government had made similar arrangements last year (2025), when rice collected through the PMB was released to the market in April, helping prevent a shortage and a rise in prices.

Explaining the seasonal difficulties faced by the rice industry, he said that October, November and December are generally rainy months in several major rice-producing Districts, including Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Ampara, Batticaloa and Kurunegala. "Mill owners generally use dryers to dry paddy, whereas farmers usually dry their harvest in the sunlight. However, during the rainy season, mill owners say that they can’t dry paddy and reduce rice production. They then try to increase prices in the market," he said.

As a measure to address this situation, he said that the Government had last year provided small- and medium-scale mill owners with interest-free loans to purchase paddy and then to release rice stocks to the market. "We have provided loans worth of Rs 7.5 billion to them this year (2026) too. We asked them to purchase paddy and maintain stocks for the coming months. If large-scale mill owners attempt to create any shortage of rice, we will get small- and medium-scale mill owners to release rice to the market. Rice stocks held by the PMB will also be released."

When queried regarding the possible quantity of rice that would be released to the market, Jayawardena said that the quantity released would depend on the extent of any shortage that developed.