Rice prices to stabilise

Hiran H. Senewiratne

The price of rice will stabilise in the coming months due to the high yields recorded in many rice cultivation areas in the country, Minister of Finance and State Revenue Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said.

The Government had been allocating more than Rs 35 billion from the annual budget since 2005 for fertilizer subsidy and had encouraged most rice farmers to go into rice cultivation and also to cultivate abandoned lands in the country, Minister Siyambalapitiya told the Daily News.

Under the fertilizer subsidy, the Government is giving Rs 9,000 worth five kg fertilizer bag at Rs 350 each to farmers, which had paved the way for farmers to remain in rice cultivation without any hindrance.

Several thousands of neglected and abandoned paddy lands went into rice cultivation during the last few years, he said.

He said the Agrarian Services Act is being implemented in a proper manner and it had encouraged many of them to go in for rice cultivation.

Under the Act the Divisional Secretariat in the area has powers to take over barren and abandon paddy lands and give them to interested farmers/ personnel for cultivation without affecting the original ownership of the owner he said.

With these developments taking place the Government need not export rice till January next year as we have sufficient rice in the country.

Due to these developments the country's wheat flour consumption has decreased by 50 percent, which indicates that people are now going in for rice and rice-based products for their consumption, he said. The Government had exempted and removed taxes for the importation of rice and rice-based processing equipment to encourage and boost local rice and rice based processing industry in the country, he said.

Siyambalapitiya said that with the end of the war more paddy lands will be cultivated in the near future especially in the Eastern part of the country.