Invests Rs. 110 m on new rice mill:

CIC brand rice to capture world market

Anjana SAMARASINGHE in Dambulla

The CIC Agri Businesses a member of the CIC Group will export new varieties of rice to France and Australia under the CIC brand.

Laboratory, Quality Control and Location Manager of the CIC Agri Business Centre, Pelwehera, Priyanga Dematawa said the company has four rice varieties for the export market and has planned to introduce a new red rice ‘Basmathi’ and a new coloured rice variety to the international and local market next month.

These two rice varieties were specially targeted at up markets and there is a good demand for these types of rice varieties in the international market, he said.

The company started rice exports in the beginning of this year and has already exported to Germany. The company has exported 20 metric tonnes during the first ten months of this year.

The company exports CIC white Basmathi, CIC Premium Samba, CIC Red Kekulu and white Nadu.

CIC Agri Business has also invested Rs. 110 million on a rice processing mill in Maho with latest Japanese technology. The mill will provide 50 direct job opportunities and expects to commence operations next month.

Nearly 2,000 out growers will supply paddy for this mill. The company will purchase paddy through a forward purchase agreement with these farmers.

“We have already contacted Supermarkets in Sri Lanka to introduce our rice to the local market,” Dematawa said. He said that they also adopt a unique system where they purchase paddy from the outgrowers on a forward agreement.

Under this scheme the CIC would purchase paddy at a higher rate from the farmers thus assuring them of higher profits.

Nearly 3,500 acres were cultivated under this project and CIC will do field inspections to maintain high quality of these rice which will be exported to other countries, Dematawa said. Under this project out growers will be able to gain attractive prices for their paddy.

In Sri Lanka subsidising inputs for paddy cultivation could minimise the profit margins of farmers, he said.

These out growers have been selected under a careful evaluation process to supply paddy for the mill.

The CIC farm is the largest paddy seed production farm in Sri Lanka and produced nearly 200,000 bushels annually to the country which is 20 per cent of the annual paddy seed production in the country.

They produce ten varieties of paddy seeds.

The company also planning to develop an agro tourism site investing Rs 150 million in Pelwehera and the project is expected to commence next year.