The Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe - Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, I wish to express views on the motion for the Adjournment debate.

¶ 02 The motion brought by Hon. Amila Prasad says the government is neglecting to intervene to reduce and control prices of essential commodities, that prices of nonessential goods are being raised excessively, that the controlled price on rice is not being enforced, and calls on the government to act. Our Hon. Members have presented many points. I also wish to address some matters raised here, even if some Members are absent — they can respond later if needed.

¶ 03 Hon. Namal Rajapaksa tried to say that while we do not talk about public servants’ salaries, Boards under the NPP government were raising salaries and allowances of Chairmen through Board Papers. If the Hon. Member is listening, I say: come here and table any document to prove such a thing in this Hon. House, without spreading lies through various channels. You are bringing lies into this House. Our policy on public servants and working people will be presented through the forthcoming Budget.

¶ 04 Hon. Dilith Jayaweera spoke falsehoods about “antigen.” Before antigens arrived during the national crisis, he went to bring them, but he brought them through a subsidiary of George Steuart Health that did not even have basic registration with the Ministry of Health. The deal was worth Rs. 22 billion. Further, his company was involved in other deals. From Katunayake, people were herded onto buses and taken to quarantine hotels — he was involved in that business too. So, those living in glass houses should not throw stones. I have limited time; many more facts exist. I say this because some think we will forget history.

¶ 05 From the Opposition front row, Hon. Namal Rajapaksa tried to lecture us about gold, deals, and such. If needed, we can speak a full day about what he did. Let me mention the Krrish Company case. Recently, I was asked for details on how money from Krrish land deals came into his accounts and how it was spent, and likewise how funds flowed to the account of Kapila Chandrasena’s spouse in the Airbus transaction. While this is the case, they try to appear spotless from the Opposition. Hon. Chamara Sampath tried to talk about Kataragama Devale too. If needed, we can debate these separately.

¶ 06 To Hon. Amila Prasad’s concerns on prices: since our Cabinet took oath, it has been 51 days. For years, Sathosa was the only state retail network. We have 448 Sathosa outlets. We are intervening in essential goods distribution through Sathosa to influence market prices. I table the relevant document now.

¶ 07 We categorized essential grocery items — potatoes, onions, sugar, dhal, rice, canned fish, salmon — to control and keep prices low. For example, canned fish had a controlled price of Rs. 480, but some sold at Rs. 500, 460, or 440 despite the control. So we summoned about 25 local canned fish producers and industry stakeholders. This is a growing industry needing technology, as families buy salmon for children’s nutrition. A 425g tin should be affordable and used for multiple meals. We asked their capacity: they can produce 500,000 tins a day; daily domestic consumption is about 180,000 tins. The problem is market governance. Imports also come with duties — Rs. 85 per tin, or Rs. 200 per kilo — while we need proper market intervention. Therefore, to make a tin affordable, we set a controlled price at Rs. 380, reducing by Rs. 90. We are not idle; we act to give relief while protecting producers and consumers.

¶ 08 On rice, the topic at hand: why do we import rice? Looking at recent years, we have imported varying quantities; in 2022, we imported 780,000 metric tons; in 2023, 145,000 metric tons. I have spoken here and to the country: we are a two-season paddy country. Daily rice consumption is about 20,000 MT; flour about 10,000 MT. Annually, rice need is around 2.4 million MT. Our production was 2.9 million MT, so there should be a surplus of about 0.5 million MT. Yet today the market says there is no rice; people consume red and white kakulu in varying regions. About 65% of people consume Nadu, 15% Kakulu, 15% Samba, and about 4–5% Basmati at hotels. Most cultivation is Nadu — called “bala vee” in Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Ampara — with 3-month harvests, while Samba (“maha vee”) is 4 months. Water releases follow crop maps.

¶ 09 In 2024, paddy production was 4.98 million MT, roughly yielding 2.9 million MT of rice. Yet we do not even have rice for a month and a half — that is the problem. Before the Presidential Election, the then government did a stunt: to distribute rice nationwide, they took red kakulu stocks stored in the South, paid Rs. 10 more, and distributed to people who don’t eat red rice, just before the election; the then Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera was involved. As a result, there is a shortage of red kakulu now.

¶ 10 We spoke to the Indian High Commission and suppliers to bring red kakulu; there is none available in India. There is a domestic shortage of red kakulu. We are making efforts to procure. Millers don’t have red kakulu. If Hon. Amila Prasad has questions, please ask briefly.