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

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, the Hon. Leader of the Opposition sent the question yesterday; I answered today. He asked for data from 2007, but that is not necessary to impose the SCL now. To decide for this year, two data sets are key: imports in the first eight months and domestic production. We made the decision to protect farmers and food security.

¶ 02 I could have taken another week but responded today because of attempts to misinterpret this issue. For details from 2007–2024 on levies and rates, we must obtain information from several ministries; hence the time requested. Those are not prerequisites to levy decisions.

¶ 03 On due process: proposals went to the Food Policy and Security Committee, which appointed a subcommittee. I tabled its report with three recommendations, which were referred to the Tariff Policy Committee. That Committee decided, Cabinet approved, and we implemented. The DG does not make tax decisions alone; policy decisions are vested in the Committees and Cabinet. We ensured there were no leaks: no decision on the 18th, and nothing public on the 19th; Cabinet approved on the 25th. Because there were no leaks, August imports were about 29,000 MT (June ~30,000 MT), with daily inflows of 800–1,000 MT—imports did not spike to 40,000 or 50,000 MT to capture levy benefits. This is how it should work—to protect both consumers and farmers. The Committee recommended Rs. 40 SCL, and we implemented it. Even so, farmers still seek higher prices, but we also considered consumers when setting the levy. We followed proper procedure.