Rs one b allocated for Maha paddy purchases
Dharma Sri Abeyratne
The Paddy Marketing Board (PMB)will purchase any quantity of paddy,
which meets the basic standards from farmers, Co-operative and Internal
Trade Minister Johnstan Fernando said.
The government has allocated Rs one billion for purchasing paddy for
this Maha season.
Minister Fernando said that farmers can sell any amount of paddy that
has less than 14 percent of moisture rate to the Paddy Marketing Board.
"The PMB purchases only quality paddy since low quality paddy creates
issues when storing. The paddy that has a high moisture rate will likely
get fungus and easily germinates.
"Moreover, quality rice can not be produced with low quality paddy.
Considering these factors, the PMB will purchase only quality paddy
which has a moisture rate of less than 14 percent", the minister noted.
"A kilogram of quality Samba paddy is purchased at a certified price of
Rs 30 while a kilogramme of Nadu is purchased at Rs 28 by the PMB.
However, paddy that does not meet the standards gets a low price in the
open market, the minster said.
The minister has instructed PMB Chairman KB Jayasinghe to take
measures to transport the recently purchased paddy to paddy stores which
have better storing capacity without harassing farmers, since many paddy
stores are filled with buffer stocks. The PMB has 181 paddy stores in
several districts.
Meanwhile, the PMB commenced paddy purchasing in the Ampara district
yesterday. Paddy stores at Pottuvil and Akkareipattu in the Ampara
district are open now.
Paddy purchasing activities in the Baticaloa and Kilinochchi
districts also commenced yesterday. In accordance with harvesting
period, all paddy stores will be opened accordingly.Paddy stores in the
Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Badulla, Monaragala, Kurunegala Hambantota,
Trincomalee, Vavuniya, Mulaithive, Matale, Mannar and Jaffana districts
will be opened for paddy purchasing in due course.
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