• Food Security Min. says Yala production, stocks purchased by PMB/Lanka Sathosa, small-medium-scale millers stocks, sufficient for Nov.-Jan.

The Government stated that there would be no shortage of other varieties of rice in the coming months, despite the ongoing scarcity of Keeri Samba and the disputes surrounding its price.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, Deputy Minister of Trade, Commerce, and Food Security R.M. Jayawardana said that the rice shortages usually occur in the months of November, December, and January.

However, he said that they do not anticipate a shortage of other varieties of rice this year due to several reasons. “The production in the Yala cultivation season was higher than expected. Also, there is a certain quantity of paddy purchased by the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) and the Lanka Sathosa. We have provided loans to small- and medium-scale mill owners to purchase paddy, and they too have stocks. With all this, we think that we will be able to manage the supply of other types of rice without a shortage in the coming months.”

Commenting on the prevailing shortage of Keeri Samba earlier, he claimed that large-scale mill owners are exploiting the shortage of Keeri Samba that typically emerges in October and November by pushing prices above the Government’s maximum retail price. 

“We said that a kilogram (kg) of Keeri Samba paddy should be purchased at Rs. 132. But, the large-scale mill owners bought it at Rs. 170–175. At those prices, it became impossible for them to sell a kilo of rice at the Government’s set price of Rs. 260. They have therefore been trying to sell Keeri Samba rice at higher prices. Now, they are misusing the usual shortage that arises in October and November to sell rice at higher prices,” he said.