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Lack of funds halts paddy purchasing by PMB

11 Sep 2022

The Government paddy purchasing process conducted by the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) has come to a standstill, with the two State banks – Bank of Ceylon and People’s Bank – declining to assist the Board with financing, The Sunday Morning learns. It is learnt that the PMB had so far purchased a total of 7,050 MT of paddy from farmers this Yala season and had paid Rs. 839 million to farmers in three stages using its own funds. Initially, the PMB had requested a total of Rs. 2 billion for the paddy purchasing process. Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, on the advice of the sub-committee appointed by the PMB, had presented a Cabinet paper asking for the purchase of paddy harvest at Government-certified high prices, which had been approved by the Cabinet subsequently while allocating Rs. 2,000 million for the PMB through State banks for the purchasing of 30,000 MT of paddy. Under this, arrangements had been made to buy a kilo of nadu paddy at Rs. 120, a kilo of samba at Rs. 125, and a kilo of keeri samba at Rs. 130. Nevertheless, due to the unavailability of required funds from the banks, the programme has now come to a standstill. Amaraweera told The Sunday Morning that he would raise the issue this week once again in Cabinet and request a meeting with the President in this regard. – By Maheesha Mudugamuwa


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