• Farmer associations warn of shortages while Govt. assures stable supplies 

While farmer associations warn of an impending rice shortage and price hikes in the country, the Government has assured that the market will remain stable for the foreseeable future.

Speaking in Parliament recently, Trade, Commerce, Food Security, and Cooperative Development Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe claimed that since the expected paddy harvest this year had diminished, the Government may have to import rice again to meet the demand. 

He further told Parliament that the estimated paddy harvest this year was 2.9 million MT and that it had been reduced to 2.4 million MT due to adverse weather conditions and floods. 

However, Deputy Minister of Food Security R.M. Jayawardana later dismissed the possibility of rice imports, asserting that there was no likelihood of a shortage occurring this year and that the Government would resort to imports only if a crisis artificially created a shortage. 

Farmer warnings

Nevertheless, farmer associations have been steadfast in warning of impending rice shortages and price hikes.  

Walawa Left Bank Joint Farmers’ Association President Mahinda Samarawickrama told The Sunday Morning that with this season’s paddy harvest having decreased in comparison to the previous season, traders had purchased paddy at higher prices while the Government had been unable to make any timely purchases in order to have the necessary stocks of paddy in hand. 

According to him, traders had purchased raw paddy at Rs. 120-125 and dried paddy Rs. 130-135. 

“There is enough paddy in the country to last for six months. However, since stocks are currently in the possession of traders, rice prices are likely to increase due to making it appear as if there is a shortage. After buying a kilo of paddy for Rs. 130, a kilo of rice cannot be sold at Rs. 220 given the production cost. This is why rice millers are claiming that rice cannot be given at the Maximum Retail Price (MRP),” he said.

He further charged that the Government had enabled an environment that allowed traders to purchase paddy at their discretion, making it impossible to control the price of rice. 

Paddy prices

Samarawickrama also pointed out that the variations in production cost across various regions in the country meant that it was difficult to adhere to the Government’s MRP for rice, compounding the issue of rice availability in the market. 

“In Kalmunai and Akkaraipattu, the combined harvester costs a maximum of about Rs. 17,000 per acre. However, in this area of Hambantota, it costs over Rs. 20,000 to harvest an acre,” he explained, pointing out that the disparity in production costs meant that farmers were unable to produce paddy at the prices dictated by the Government. 

Therefore, he said that the Government should have purchased paddy at the same prices as the traders in order to offer competitive prices, which would have ensured that farmers sold paddy both to the State as well as to private traders. 

At present, however, he said that the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) had been unable to purchase sufficient quantities of paddy. 

“To my knowledge, only 2,900 kg of paddy has been sold to the PMB across the island. Although the Government has allocated Rs. 500 million to the PMB to purchase paddy, just one mill owner purchases more that Rs. 500 million worth of paddy per season. As a result, by the end of May, traders will sell a kilo of rice at around Rs. 240-250 and the Government will be unable to do anything about this,” he stated.

Accordingly, he stressed that about 99% of farmers had sold their paddy to private mill owners. 

Addressing the anticipated harvest, he said: “For instance, in the Hambantota Walawe zone, during the Yala season, the paddy harvest is higher. However, heavy rainfall during this Yala season at the initial stage of harvest growth has led to a diminished harvest.”

Meanwhile, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation Secretary D.P. Wickremasinghe commented on the impact of the prices implemented by the Government: “Only a little paddy is sold to the PMB; since we implemented a price as a safety net, we wanted to ensure that the price would not drop below that. This resulted in farmers receiving a good price.” 

He further stated: “We are ready to purchase more if it is sold at the price we have implemented.” 

Meanwhile, PMB Chairman Manjula Pinnalanda also confirmed to The Sunday Morning that the PMB had not received a significant stock of paddy. He said on Friday (28) that as of the previous week, the PMB had received about 60 MT of paddy from the Maha season harvest. 

He added: “The PMB has the storage capacity to purchase about 250,000-300,000 MT and we prepared the financial facilities for this as well. However, due to being unable to dry the paddy in time given the recent rains, farmers have sold the paddy to the private sector.”

Pinnalanda further noted that the harvesting was largely completed, estimating about 80% of the harvesting being done, with the remainder to be cut during the first weeks of April, from which he anticipated that a small amount may be given to the PMB should there be no rains.  

No shortage in the offing

Nevertheless, Ministry of Agriculture Secretary Wickremasinghe asserted that there was no shortage of paddy at present, since the fields were still being harvested. 

“Although there is a small issue with keeri samba, the harvesting is still ongoing in Polonnaruwa. We typically expect 2.4 million MT of paddy from the Maha season. Although there is a slight drop, we expect this amount based on recent reports. With the Yala season having commenced, we are anticipating planting nearly 600,000 hectares, which will be a historical figure,” he said.

Addressing the possibilities of importation in the event of a shortage, he said: “There is more than enough nadu, white kekulu, and red kekulu. There is a small issue with samba since farmers have cultivated less. However, if needed, rice will be imported; there are no issues with that.

“The Agriculture Department estimated a harvest of 2.6 million MT and while it looks like the actual amount will be somewhat less, it will still be over 2 million MT. This amount will be sufficient, since we only require 200,000 MT of rice monthly, which means this amount will be enough until about August.”

Attempts to reach Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe and Deputy Ministers Namal Karunaratne and R.M. Jayawardana proved futile.