The Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe
The Minister outlined additional sources of rice demand, including ornamental fish feed, rice flour milling, beer production, poultry, and fisheries, noting that these uses contributed to perceived market shortages. He said the Government had inspected miller stocks in several provinces and, from 8 December, arranged the daily release of 350 MT of rice through Sathosa to stabilize supply and maintain the controlled price. He also stated that data discrepancies among relevant agencies were being reconciled and that PMB and Sathosa would be integrated for procurement, with guaranteed prices for farmers and fair prices for consumers to prevent future shortages and avoid imports.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, please grant me two more minutes.
¶ 02 We also have ornamental fish industries, rice flour milling — red and white rice milled into flour — and beer production using more than 20,000 MT annually, about 1,500 MT monthly of rice. When you calculate all, there is a real issue: estimates go to these sectors, including poultry and fisheries. After all this, the market feels a shortage.
¶ 03 Therefore we engaged millers, inspected stocks in Eastern and Southern Provinces and in Polonnaruwa, and got agreement. From December 8, we released 350 MT daily through Sathosa from millers’ stocks to stabilize the rice market and maintain the controlled price. There are data issues among Agriculture, the Consumer Affairs Authority, and us; we are reconciling data to avoid future errors, prevent shortages, and avoid imports. We are integrating PMB and Sathosa for procurement, setting guaranteed prices for farmers and fair prices for consumers, to avoid rice shortages. We seek your support. I conclude.
¶ 04 Thank you.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 9 January 2025 ·No. 1738229262040729 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 9 January 2025. No. 1738229262040729. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/23786