Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva

¶ 01 You said 25,000 MT go to beer, about 30,000 MT to ethanol, around 250,000 MT to the poultry sector; and that about 800,000 MT of paddy remain. We can discuss this outside. We spoke to large and small retailers. Then we saw the Consumer Affairs Authority entering supermarkets with media to monitor. Even so, despite the Gazetteed prices, rice cannot be sold at those prices; perhaps Sathosa can supply a little. With imports, the issue will ease in days. You also said banks have lent to millers and you would force releases aligned to those loans. That must happen, but these are temporary solutions. Imports benefit large millers and hurt small millers. Large millers welcome imports; small millers get squeezed because imported rice displaces demand for their milled local paddy, while brands with capital survive.

¶ 02 Mr. Deputy Speaker, this problem did not arise yesterday or because Anura Kumara became President. It cannot be solved by Gazettes, by the military, or even by my friend Minister Wasantha using authority. The solution lies within the market.

¶ 03 In 2018 this problem escalated when properties of small millers were to be auctioned through BBS. We studied the issue deeply and launched “Shakthi Sahal,” a cooperative model across eight paddy districts, linking over 250 SME millers and over 10,000 farmers. We bought paddy at Rs. 38–41/kg and by the day before the November 2019 election we could sell Nadu at Rs. 85/kg and Samba at Rs. 90/kg, when market Samba had jumped to Rs. 114/kg. Through the cooperative we forced large millers to bring down prices from Rs. 114 to Rs. 95/kg, gaining about 3–4 percent market share. In 2019, stable, fair rice prices were possible.

¶ 04 Therefore I request the Government to relaunch the Shakthi Sahal initiative. If you fear giving us credit for it, run it under another name. You speak of a new political culture—this is it, Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe. You propose, we support for the country. Appoint a committee; we will join. No duplicity; let’s solve it together.