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| Tuesday, 25 May 2004 |
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Large stock of Markfed rice released by Uditha Kumarasinghe The Sri Lanka Co-operative Marketing Federation (MARKFED) is releasing rice stocks to the market in a bid to stabilise prices.MARKFED has nearly 850,000 Kgs of paddy in stock. These paddy stocks are now being milled and released to the market through MARKFED outlets and Multi Purpose Co-operative Societies to control the increase in the price of rice in the local market, MARKFED General Manager U.G. Dayananda told the Daily News yesterday. The MARKFED mill at Anuradhapura can process 10,000 Kgs of rice per day, he said. Dayananda said MARKFED is selling rice through their retail outlets at Rs. 28.50 per Kg (Nadu variety) and Rs. 33.50 per Kg (Samba). The price of rice in the open market has increased by about five rupees per Kilo due to the dearth of stocks in the market, he said. Dayananda referred to the need to provide incentives to mill owners to encourage them to release their stocks in an orderly manner. Private mill owners have pledged to release rice stocks to the market. This would help stabilise the prices in market, he said. The MARKFED has purchased nearly 1.5 million Kgs of paddy during the Maha season. This year's Maha season harvest has decreased. However, farmers can get nearly Rs. 15 per Kilo of paddy due to various paddy purchasing programs implemented by the Government. Polonnaruwa district Co-operative Societies and Multi Purpose Co-operative Societies' sources say they were facing various problems in releasing paddy and rice stocks to the market. Polonnaruwa Multi Purpose Co-operative Society Chairman, Nanda Ratnasiri has said they were unable to sell a Kilo of Samba paddy bought for about Rs. 15 per Kilo for a price of Rs. 17. The mill owners have agreed to purchase a Kilo of Nadu variety of paddy between Rs. 13.75 and Rs. 14. He has said Kilo of par boiled rice could be sold at Rs. 28 per Kilo for ready cash or bank draft. The Polonnaruwa District Co-operative Council says paddy stocks worth around Rs. 15 million are being held back from the market until they get a good price. These stocks are being held under the program of Paddy Conservation. The council has emphasised that farmers have to decide on releasing stocks to the market. The market price of paddy which is currently Rs.15 per Kilo has led to this situation. The Polonnaruwa Rice Producers Association has said traders now hesitate to purchase rice, which has placed farmers in a difficulty. |
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