• Nat’l Agri. Unity org. claims paddy stocks adequate till Apr.  

While welcoming the fact that interventions were made by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake with regard to controlling rice prices, the National Agrarian Unity (NAU) organisation alleged that declaring controlled rice prices is unlikely to resolve the prevailing rice-related issues in the country.

Noting that imported rice costs significantly less than locally produced rice, he expressed concerns that following the Government’s decision to declare a controlled price for rice, even imported rice would be sold at the controlled price, which would not pass on to the consumers the benefits of imported, inexpensive rice. Alleging that the increased rice prices is a result of a plot hatched by certain rice mill owners and that the Government and the President have been misled, they urged the Government to take more scientific steps to address the issues relating to rice prices and shortages.

Raising these concerns, the organisation’s President, Anuradha Thennakoon told The Daily Morning that the Government’s decision concerning rice prices has not been taken for the farmers’ wellbeing, and that farmers’ and consumers’ concerns are yet to be addressed. “There is still no calculation of the paddy stocks available in the country,” he stressed, adding that the lack of accurate statistics is a challenge in addressing the prevailing rice-related issues. He claimed that there is over 2.2 million metric tonnes of paddy in the country which is adequate to fulfil the country’s rice requirement until the end of April of next year (2025). 

Moreover, Thennakoon alleged that there is corruption in the process of handling paddy and supplying rice and that there is also a ‘bureaucratic mafia’ which involves officials attached to several public entities, which he said affects the efforts aimed at ensuring a fair price for rice.