Archives

Having read the recent heated debates going on with regard to the threatened rise in wheat flour prices, the monopoly held by Prima and general furore created, one tends to wonder whether the famous saying of Marie Antoinette "If you cant eat bread eat cake" is indeed not as ludicrous as generally thought. This is also much in line with the views of a leading accountant in Sri Lanka who said in so many words, that with the imminent rise in the cost of flour, bread will soon be beyond the reach of many, and thus it is time we Sri Lankans reverted to eating rice based products like our forefathers. He recommends that supply-demand forces in the market should determine the price of wheat flour. With the subsidy removed and the price of wheat flour increased, he predicts that the demand for flour would also diminish, while that for rice would increase with a consequent spin off to the farmer as well.

While this would be a welcome trend, there are several reasons why with the price of bread gradually increasing during the last several years in spite of several election promises to the contrary, this has not happened. One reason of course is the lack of alternate instant or convenient foods. When one envisages rice products, what is immediately conjured in our minds is the traditional kiribath, kenda, stringhoppers, pittu etc. all of which are time consuming preparations. But these are not the only products possible with rice. The ITI has developed a whole range of products that could be used conveniently by the busy housewife and they are languishing for want of an entrepreneur to take them up. What then prevents our industrialists from venturing into production?

The most significant factor is the profit issue. Quite naturally, any entrepreneur would primarily look for profits in any venture he invests in. Economics show that the rice flour needed to produce these products, are far costlier than the wheat flour. Rice flour prices tend to be about Rs. 10/- more than the prices of rice prevailing at the time. Thus there are constant fluctuations in price, aggravated by the present trend by the millers to hoard during time of excess, making it even more erratic. Which industrialists then would even consider such a venture under these circumstances?

Looking from the point of the rice flour producer objectively, he is unable to give a fixed price for the milled rice, as he in turn buys the rice at an exorbitant price from the middleman. So it is a chain reaction, which ultimately bounces back on the consumer.

What then is the answer? One possible action that could be taken is to provide some sort of subsidy or incentive to the rice flour producer and farmers, so that the prices of rice flour could be reduced. This would also reduce the hoarding tendency, as the farmer and the rice flour producer would be assured of his price. Cannot the subsidy granted to Prima be reverted here? Several discussions held with the leading rice flour producers in Sri Lanka revealed that they would be willing to provide a steady supply of rice flour on the assurance that they would be given some concession. Although it is often claimed that the paddy yield per unit of land area is very low in Sri Lanka, and that we would not have sufficient quantities of rice to fulfil local demand, according to FAO statistics, as given in the Central Bank Report, 2003, the average yield in Sri Lanka is higher than several major rice exporting countries such as Thailand, Myanmar and Pakistan.

This could possibly be due to the development of high yielding varieties of rice, for which our researchers were given Presidential awards as well. With the granting of concessions, the production is bound to increase further and meeting the demand for rice flour would then not be a problem. Research and development studies are also now focused on the cultivation of different rice varieties to meet certain niche export markets, and here again, the farmer could be assured of his profit once the demand sets in. In this connection, one might well ask, why are we so dependent on wheat flour? This is because; wheat is the only cereal, which contains the all-important protein, called gluten, which is responsible for the desirable characteristics of bread. Gluten forms an elastic framework of dough entrapping the gas produced by fermentation or leavening action, which results in a risen dough of the desired loaf volume and structure. No other flour has this characteristic although rye and corn contain some gluten. Rye bread is also made in some Scandinavian countries, but it is not aesthetically appealing to the Sri Lankan palate. Incorporation of other flours to wheat flour is possible certainly, but only to an extent of about 20% if a satisfactory loaf is required. In fact, ITI has been conducting studies on composite flour bread since the late seventies, and the technology has been demonstrated to bakers, entrepreneurs, the armed forces and even the Prisons Department. While all these institutions show a great interest in adapting this technology, the one obstacle they professed to have was the lack of a steady supply of rice flour at a reasonable price.

Thus what is required to make some inroads in reducing the total dependence on wheat flour is State intervention by way of subsidies or incentives to both farmers and millers in order that they are encouraged to provide a steady supply of rice flour at a price competitive or preferably cheaper, than wheat flour. Greater technological input through research and development activities would enable even broken rice which is presently used for animal feeds to also be milled into rice flour, thus increasing the supply. What must be borne in mind in this climate of frugality is that Sri Lanka imports 900,000 MT of wheat annually spending much valuable foreign exchange. Some thought has to be given to reduce this huge investment.

This is not all. Awareness programs are also necessary to consumers, bakers and industrialists to acquaint them of the nutritional benefits of rice, the availability of convenience foods from rice and other cereals, and the commercial viability of venturing into the production of such commodities. Rice flour even after milling retains much of the outer layers of grain, and hence retains the proteins, dietary fibre and other nutrients present in rice. Wheat on the other hand, undergoes a fine milling process, and loses over 25% of the grain as bran, and hence also loses some of the nutrients present in the wheat grain itself.

It is apparent that we are not alone in promoting rice-eating habits. The Food and Agricultural Organization have very aptly, declared 2004 to be the International Year of Rice. The time seems ripe therefore for us Sri Lankans, a traditional rice eating community, to wean away from imported wheat, and go back to our roots or 'Back To Rice'.

(Industrial Technology Institute)

www.Pathmaconstruction.com

www.ceylincoproperties.com

www.crescat.com

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries

Produced by Lake House
Copyright © 2003 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager