Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe - Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Co-operative Development
Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe stated that the Rs. 65 per kilogram duty on imported rice is intended to protect domestic rice market prices and farmers’ paddy prices during the harvest period, noting the Government’s guaranteed paddy prices of Rs. 120 for Nadu and Rs. 125 for Samba. He said the Consumer Affairs Authority is monitoring mills and retailers for compliance with controlled prices, with 38 shops raided for overpricing. He added that one Polonnaruwa mill with substantial state bank loans was found to be dictating higher prices, and that special action would be taken to ensure prices do not exceed controlled levels.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 The Rs. 65 per kg duty on imported rice protects domestic market prices and the farmer’s paddy price. Without that duty—given imports at around Rs. 135 per kg from India—the market and farmgate prices would have faced severe pressure during harvesting. The Government has set a guaranteed price of Rs. 120 per kg for Nadu paddy (moisture 14%) and Rs. 125 per kg for Samba.
¶ 02 Regarding retailers selling above controlled rates, the Consumer Affairs Authority inspected mills and distribution yesterday. One Polonnaruwa mill, having obtained Rs. 15 billion in state bank loans, was found to be dictating higher ex-mill and retail prices (e.g., selling Keeri Samba at Rs. 275 when controlled price is Rs. 255). We are monitoring 15 mills; 14 comply with controlled prices. Yesterday, 38 shops selling above controlled prices were raided and action taken. We will take special decisions against the offending mill and will not allow prices to go above the controlled levels.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 25 February 2025 ·No. 1741258607035810 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe - Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Co-operative Development. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 25 February 2025. No. 1741258607035810. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/26572