PMB stabilises paddy prices

Maha purchases over 37,000 MT:

Shirley WIJESINGHE

The Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) had purchased the highest quantity of 37,000 metric tons of paddy from the farmers, spending over Rs.1,061 million during the Maha season, Agriculture Development and Agrarian Service Ministry Secretary Sirisena Amarasekera told the Daily News yesterday.

The main objective of the Government to intervene in paddy purchasing is to stabilize the certified price for farmers’ paddy crop in the Maha season, so that there would not be price fluctuation to the disadvantage of farmers, he added.

Most of the paddy purchases of this season was also under the control of private mill owners as usual. But PMB’s initiative was successful in maintaining the maximum price for paddy purchases.

Amarasekera said the Government was able to achieve its target by re-establishing the Paddy Marketing Board which had been wound up by the last UNP Government.

“This is the second year that the PMB directly intervened in paddy purchasing after its re-establishment,” he stressed.

The highest paddy purchase of 14,300 metric tons was recorded from the Eastern Zone. It also purchased 14,200 metric tons from Polonnaruwa, 5,200 from Anuradhapura 2,367 from Southern zone and 261 from Wayamba zone, PMB Chairman K.B. Jayasinghe added. Jayasinghe said the people rushed to sell their paddy harvest to the PMB with more interest through the facilities such as transport facilities provided by the Government.

“We have targeted to purchase over 100,000metric tons of paddy. But we have adequate storage facilities to house even 140,000 metric tons of paddy”, he said.

The Government buys a kilogram of Nadu at Rs.28 and Samba at Rs.30.

The Treasury had allocated Rs. 4,000 million for the paddy purchase initially. A receipt will be issued to farmers who brought their paddy and it can be en-cashed at any time from the respective banks.

The PMB has been successful in maintaining the purchasing price of paddy and had prevented exploitation of farmers by private individuals during the current Maha season.

A bumper paddy harvest was recorded in the Maha season and the PMB will pay a certified price for the standard quality paddy according to the policy of the PMB.