o Sathosa and co-operative mills on standby o Country’s rice requirement could be met By Sarah Hannan The Government is prepared to operate the rice mills under its purview to break the alleged rice mill monopoly and ensure smooth supply of rice to the market, The Morning learnt. The paddy stocks generated from the last harvest in Sri Lanka amounted to around three million metric tonnes and the Ministry of Internal Trade, Food Security, and Consumer Welfare assured that the country has sufficient paddy to be milled to supply the nation’s rice requirement. Speaking to The Morning, Ministry of Internal Trade, Food Security, and Consumer Welfare Secretary Badhrani Jayawardana noted that this stock is stored in rice mills and stockades in various districts of the country. “Soon, we will have the paddy harvest from the Yala season as well. The Government is at the moment able to supply rice stocks to the market to fulfil the requirement by utilising the paddy stocks that were purchased through government agents and the Paddy Marketing Board. In addition to that, small and medium-scale rice mill owners are now directly supplying rice stocks to the co-operatives.” Accordingly, a stock of 30,000 kg has been supplied to Colombo, while 30,000 kg of rice was supplied to Gampaha yesterday (24), and on Tuesday (26), 50,000 kg of rice will be distributed to Kalutara and other areas that reported a shortage. Jayawardana also stated that, should the need arise, the Government is able to use the rice mills that are operated by Sathosa in Hingurakgoda and Hambantota, as well as the co-operative network. The Government will also utilise all state-owned paddy storage facilities to hold paddy stocks.