The Hon. Namal Karunaratne - Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock

¶ 01 On behalf of the Minister, I reply:

¶ 02 (a) (i) 17 March 1971.

¶ 03 (ii) Quantity and value of paddy purchased by PMB over the past three years, per district:

¶ 04 - 2022 total quantity: 78,360.81 MT; total value: Rs. 6,747.23 million. - 2023 total quantity: 2,153.924 MT; total value: Rs. 204.635 million. - 2024 total quantity: 2,757.525 MT; total value: Rs. 292.636 million.

¶ 05 (Selected district figures, 2022–2024): - Ampara: 13,783.90 MT (2022); 248.464 MT (2023); 1,396.443 MT (2024) - Polonnaruwa: —; —; 5,305.94 MT - Kurunegala: 12,958.73 MT (2022); —; — - Puttalam: 2,148.09 MT (2022); —; — - Gampaha: 1,122.76 MT (2022); —; — - Matale: 3,084.34 MT (2022); —; — - Hambantota: 1,142.38 MT (2022); 1,716.73 MT (2023); 1,011.593 MT (2024) - Monaragala: 378.84 MT (2022); —; 165.262 MT - Ratnapura: 222.25 MT (2022); 94.97 MT (2023); 184.227 MT (2024) - Galle: 3.04 MT (2022); —; — - Kilinochchi: 6,389.43 MT (2022); —; — - Mullaitivu: 5,617.11 MT (2022); —; 74 MT - Vavuniya: 746.51 MT (2022); —; — - Jaffna: 1,926.58 MT (2022); —; — - Batticaloa: 3,738.33 MT (2022); 86.36 MT (2023); — - Trincomalee: 3,148.32 MT (2022); —; —

¶ 06 (iii) Number of PMB purchasing centres opened for 2024/25 Maha season, by region/district: - Polonnaruwa region (Polonnaruwa): 20 - Southern region (Hambantota, Ratnapura, Monaragala): 19 - Eastern region (Batticaloa, Trincomalee): 10 - Anuradhapura region (Anuradhapura, Matale): 27 - Ampara region (Kandy, Badulla, Ampara): 26 - Northern region (Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Jaffna, Mannar): 12 - North Western region (Kurunegala, Puttalam, Matale, Gampaha): 19 Total: 133

¶ 07 (iv) Number of storage facilities (per district; totals): - Kurunegala 19; Puttalam 7; Matale 9; Gampaha 4; Trincomalee 25; Batticaloa 10; Monaragala 9; Ratnapura 8; Hambantota 19; Galle 1; Matara 1; Ampara 65; Badulla 7; Kandy 7; Anuradhapura 69; Polonnaruwa 5; Kilinochchi 8; Vavuniya 7; Mullaitivu 14; Mannar 4; Jaffna 1. Total: 353.

¶ 08 (v) Percentage of total harvest purchased by Government (sample 2022 vs 2023, by district; %): - Colombo: 0.00 / 0.00 - Gampaha: 2.34 / 0.00 - Kalutara: 0.00 / 0.00 - Kandy: 0.12 / 0.00 - Matale: 3.37 / 0.00 - Nuwara Eliya: 0.00 / 0.00 - Galle: 0.01 / 0.00 - Matara: 0.00 / 0.00 - Jaffna: 12.83 / 0.00 - Mannar: 4.35 / 0.00 - Vavuniya: 11.51 / 0.00 - Mullaitivu: 8.48 / 0.01 - Kilinochchi: 7.31 / 0.00 - Batticaloa: 2.21 / 0.03 - Ampara: 3.11 / 0.04 - Trincomalee: 1.66 / 0.00 - Kurunegala: 0.00 / 0.00 - Puttalam: 3.02 / 0.00 - Anuradhapura: 1.76 / 0.00 - Polonnaruwa: 1.31 / 0.00 - Badulla: 0.00 / 0.00 - Monaragala: 0.25 / 0.00 - Ratnapura: 0.32 / 0.11 - Kegalle: 0.00 / 0.00

¶ 09 Note: Data for 2025 are not yet available; I will provide answers when received.

¶ 10 (b)–(c) [Further details requested on State bank lending to mills, names and quantities/values, and district-level rice distribution system to be provided separately as compiled data.]