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

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, the Hon. Leader of the Opposition’s Question under Standing Order 27(2) reached our Ministry only at 3.00 p.m. yesterday. He also made assertions alongside his questions. On consumption, yes, it is about 2.4 million MT of rice. The current Yala harvest is now being reaped. The last Maha saw the largest sown extent in recent history—about 530,000 hectares. District-wise production data is with the Department of Agrarian Development. Cost of production per kg is with the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute. Stock holdings are with the Paddy Marketing Board and Sathosa (CWE).

¶ 02 On imports: early this year we imported about 178,000 MT of rice. Due to a Keeri Samba issue, the Food Security Committee decided on a further 40,000 MT, though approval has not yet been granted. Regarding maize, in the recent past 278,000 MT were imported to meet needs of poultry, eggs, animal feed and fish production. Breweries reported a need of 19,800 MT of rice; about 10,000 MT were sought for sake production; ethanol is also produced from maize. Since the Question arrived only yesterday evening, I will provide comprehensive, verified answers in writing after obtaining confirmations from the relevant institutions.