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Rice mill owners to enter agreement with Govt.

20 Jul 2021

 
  • End of rice mafia, claims Aluthgamage
  • Pact to be signed within two weeks
  • Says Yala harvest to be purchased at agreed price
  BY Dinitha Rathnayake Rice mill owners are to sign an agreement with the Government within a period of two weeks, where paddy purchase prices and rice selling prices will be guaranteed within a certain price range. Speaking in Parliament, Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said that according to this agreement, mill owners would purchase a kilo of paddy within the price range of Rs. 50-52. “Rice mill owners will not increase this guaranteed price since we would take necessary action against them if they attempt to increase the selling price of rice. We have increased the fine up from Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 100,000.“ According to the Minister, the Government would have a conversation related to the rice prices with the mill owners where the production of the Yala season should be sold according to the agreed price, and therefore, the so-called rice mafia would end. “The price of a kilo of nadu is around Rs. 120 at the moment, a kilo of samba costs Rs. 150, and a kilo of keeri samba is around Rs. 220. We need to control this price but the main reason for this increase is the low fines imposed, which the mill owners took for granted. But this will not take place in the future. Henceforth, paddy prices and rice prices would be decided only by the Government and not by rice millers. If someone tries to sell rice at a higher price, we would not hesitate to punish them,” he said. Despite the continuous assurances given by the Government that it would end the rice mafia, the prices of many rice varieties have remained high during the past years. Many claimed that the high prices have been artificially created by the rice mafia operating within the country, including farmers, mill owners, and farmers’ unions. The prices of a kilo of samba, nadu, kekulu – white, and kekulu – red at the Pettah Wholesale Market were Rs. 138, Rs. 114, Rs. 108, and Rs. 102, respectively. As alleged by consumers, rice is not available at the controlled price anywhere from the day the Government introduced it.


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