When Dudley Sirisena, one of Sri Lanka’s most prominent rice mill owners, publicised images of a recently acquired high-end luxury vehicle and a video of him touring the Singapore Airshow, scouting helicopters and business jets, some raised questions about rising rice prices and the growing gap between powerful industry players and ordinary consumers.
For many families struggling to manage daily food expenses, the sight of conspicuous wealth linked to the rice trade struck a nerve – not because of envy, but because rice is not a luxury in Sri Lanka.
It is survival. A staple food which almost the entire country depends on to feed their families.
The incident has once again brought into sharp focus the growing disconnect between powerful private sector players in the rice industry and the lived realities of ordinary consumers, as well as the Government’s continued failure to assert meaningful control over a market that directly affects the country’s food security.
A breaking point for consumers
Rice prices have remained persistently high for years, with little to no relief for consumers. Despite changes in political leadership and repeated promises to rein in what is commonly referred to as the ‘rice mafia,’ successive governments have allowed the market to remain dominated by a handful of influential mill owners.
Consumer rights activists argue that the current administration, despite campaigning on a platform of consumer rights and market reform, has not only failed to dismantle this structure but has instead chosen to coexist with it.
“This Government has done nothing so far to control the ‘rice mafia,’ and as a result, consumers are paying high prices,” National Movement for Consumer Rights Protection President Ranjith Vithanage charged.
“Almost all Governments in the past have done nothing to control the mafia. But this Government promised that it would take action, especially since many of those now in power once protested loudly for the rights of consumers and demanded that previous governments eradicate the rice mafia. Today, what we see is that they, too, are working closely with these businessmen.”
According to Vithanage, the impact on consumers has reached a breaking point. “Many people simply cannot bear the cost of a kilo of rice anymore. Prices only move upward. There has never been a reduction. Especially since this Government came into power, we have not seen a single serious effort to control rice prices.”
The Central Bank’s Daily Price Reports support this perception of an unrelenting upward trend. On 19 February 2023, the retail prices of samba, nadu, kekulu (white), and kekulu (red) stood at Rs. 225, Rs. 220, Rs. 190, and Rs. 175, respectively.
In 2024, while samba prices were not officially listed, nadu remained at Rs. 220, with kekulu (white) and kekulu (red) rising to Rs. 210 and Rs. 180, respectively. By 2026, nadu rice had increased to Rs. 230 per kg, while kekulu (white) and kekulu (red) both reached Rs. 210 — reinforcing the public belief that rice prices rarely, if ever, come down.
Farmer woes
While consumers bear the brunt of high retail prices, farmers say they too are being squeezed – caught between falling paddy prices and an inflexible retail pricing structure that benefits neither producers nor buyers.
The National Agrarian Unity organisation has repeatedly called on the Government to introduce a floating price mechanism for rice, arguing that the current system distorts the market and entrenches monopoly power.
Its President Anuradha Tennakoon said that although paddy prices fluctuated in line with supply and demand, rice prices had remained artificially fixed due to a gazette notification issued on 9 December 2025. Under this gazette, the maximum retail price of a kilo of nadu rice was set at Rs. 230.
Tennakoon explained that wet paddy currently sold at around Rs. 80 per kilo, while dried paddy was priced between Rs. 95 and Rs. 100. Given that approximately 1.5 kg of paddy is required to produce 1 kg of rice, the raw material cost would amount to about Rs. 150 if paddy is priced at Rs. 100 per kilo.
“Even after accounting for packaging, electricity, transport, and other operational expenses, rice can be supplied to the market at around Rs. 200 per kilo under current conditions,” Tennakoon stated.
“However, since the retail price is fixed at a higher level, the additional profit is being absorbed by paddy mill owners. This has effectively allowed a mafia to operate under the protection of price controls.”
He also raised concerns about the Government’s guaranteed minimum price scheme for farmers, implemented through the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB). Although the PMB has announced a purchase price of Rs. 120 per kilo of paddy, Tennakoon said that the reality on the ground was very different.
According to him, paddy production during the current season is estimated at around 1.25 million MT, but the Government purchases only about 80,000 MT.
“Farmers are forced to sell the remaining harvest to private buyers, who offer significantly lower prices,” he said. “Unless the Government regulates private buyers and properly enforces the minimum price mechanism, farmers will continue to suffer.”
Meanwhile, the Government has announced revised minimum prices for paddy purchases for the 2025/’26 Maha cultivation season. Under the new rates, nadu paddy will be purchased at Rs. 120 per kilo, samba at Rs. 130, and keeri samba at Rs. 140. However, farmer groups argue that these figures mean little without adequate procurement capacity and enforcement.
A cornerstone of national food security
Responding to the criticism, Ministry of Agriculture Secretary D.P. Wickremasinghe said that the Government could not take full control of the rice market due to its sheer scale.
He stated that the Government’s intention was to work in collaboration with private sector stakeholders rather than attempt direct intervention.
Wickremasinghe also said sufficient funds had been allocated for the PMB to purchase paddy for Government stores, adding that the issue would be discussed at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation.
However, consumer rights activists argue that allowing private interests to dominate such a critical sector carries serious long-term risks, as rice is Sri Lanka’s staple food and a cornerstone of national food security.
Paddy cultivation takes place in all districts across two main seasons – Maha and Yala – aligned with the country’s monsoon cycles. The Maha season, which runs from September to March, is the primary cultivation period.
According to official statistics from the Department of Census and Statistics, paddy cultivation during the 2024/’25 Maha season recorded substantial activity and output. Total production was estimated at 2.75 million MT, based on nationwide crop-cutting surveys and complete enumeration of harvested land. More than 2,500 crop-cutting experiments were conducted to estimate yields.
The total sown extent reached 800,463 hectares, with nearly 98% eventually harvested. Major irrigation schemes accounted for 46.3% of cultivation, minor irrigation schemes for 25.7%, and rainfed cultivation for 28%. Anuradhapura recorded the largest extent of paddy cultivation and the highest share of total production, followed by Kurunegala, Polonnaruwa, Ampara, Hambantota, and Trincomalee.
Average yield during the season stood at 3,679 kg per net hectare, with higher yields reported from Hambantota, Ampara, Mannar, Ratnapura, and Anuradhapura. Farming practices have become increasingly mechanised, with tractors dominating land preparation and combined harvesters widely used during threshing. Chemical fertiliser use remains prevalent, although a portion of farmers combine chemical and organic inputs.
Despite healthy production levels and modernised farming practices, the fundamental imbalance in the rice market remains unresolved. Consumers continue to pay high retail prices, farmers struggle to secure fair farmgate rates, and large mill owners retain significant pricing power.
It is within this context that the public reaction to the rice industrialist’s luxury purchase must be understood. For many Sri Lankans, it has come to symbolise not individual wealth, but a system in which a few benefit disproportionately from a commodity that sustains an entire nation.
As one consumer activist noted, “The question is not whether rice is being produced. The question is why, in a country that produces millions of tonnes of paddy every year, people still struggle to afford their most basic food. And why the Government continues to allow private interests to determine the price of food security.”