No scarcity or price escalation of rice, assures President

Consumers can now buy rice at the controlled price as the Government has taken all steps to prevent any scarcity and escalation of prices through plentiful supplies to the market, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He was presiding over a meeting of the Government Food Security and Cost of Living Committee held at Temple Trees on Tuesday.

A Government Information Department Communique said several important decisions were taken at this meeting where the President directed officials to take all possible steps to bring down the rising cost of living.

The President directed the PMB to purchase 140,000 metric tons of paddy from the Yala harvest and maintain a buffer stock of 100,000 mt of rice in food department stores to prevent any future scarcity or price hike.

It was also decided at this meeting to release 4,000 tons of rice imported from Myanmar to the Co-operatives, Lak Sathosa outlets, Welfare Societies and Fair Trading Presidential award winning private traders to provide this commodity to Samurdhi recipients and urban dwellers at a lower price of Rs. 56 per kilo.

The Committee also decided to asweddumise 10,000 acres of fallow paddy lands this year as an immediate measure to increase local production.

It was also observed that despite the low whole sale prices of vegetables it reached the retail market at a very high price. In order to prevent this and keep retial price of vegetables at reasonable prices it was decided to open up State vegetable retail outlets countrywide.

The Committee observed that in spite of a Collective Agreement signed with the Government to sell chicken at Rs. 320 per kilo producers were trying to jack up prices by creating an artificial shortage in the market.

If this trend continued it was decided that the Government should encourage chicken meat imports without any hesitation.

The country’s annual demand for maize was 4,000 metric tons. But local annual production amounted only to 2000 mt. The President directed Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga to probe the possibility of importing 2000 mt maize from India annually to fill the shortfall.

Agricultural Development and Agrarian Services Minister Maitripala Sirisena said his ministry had launched a programme to educate urban masses on the possibility of growing vegetables on a small scale in home gardens. It was decided that the Ministry should provide the necessary plants and seeds to the prospective growers.

Ministers Bandula Gunawardane, John Seneviratne, Karu Jayasuriya, Felix Perera, Kumara Welgama and Tissa Vitharana also attended the meeting.