• Proposal before Cabinet by end January 2024?

The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) Act No. 9 of 2003 is to be amended so as to prevent rice mill owners from unfairly raising rice prices by hiding stocks of rice, the Ministry of Agriculture said.

Speaking to the media, Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries Mahinda Amaraweera charged that certain rice mill owners are currently working to create a shortage of rice with the intention of raising rice prices during the upcoming festive season.

The Minister said that while the existing CAA Act empowers relevant officials to raid traders and institutions that sell commodities at higher prices and prosecute them, they do not empower authorities to act against individuals or institutions that are found to have hidden commodities, in an attempt to create an artificial shortage of such.

Considering the timely need, Amaraweera said that it was discussed at the Cabinet of Ministers to amend the CAA Act in a way that empowers CAA officials to raid mill owners who hide rice stocks and prosecute them. According to him, the relevant proposal will be presented to the Cabinet of Ministers during the course of next month (January 2024).

The country is currently seeing a shortage of keeri samba, and the Agriculture Ministry recently attributed it to an artificial shortage created by rice mill owners. Considering the said shortage and possible high demand for keeri samba during the festive season, it had been decided to import 300,000 metric tonnes (MT) of a variety of rice that is similar to keeri samba, but the relevant quantity had been reduced to 50,000 MT as per a proposal made by Amaraweera.