Record paddy purchase this Maha season

Disna MUDALIGE

The Paddy Marketing Board (PMD) had purchased the highest paddy harvest during the Maha season this year for the first time in Sri Lankan history, said Cooperatives and Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando.

The board had purchased 73,987 metric tons of paddy up to last Tuesday during the Maha season spending Rs 2,000 million. The highest amount of paddy purchased from a Maha season prior to this year was 70,000 metric tons. The minister said paddy purchasing is continuing successfully throughout the island. He requested paddy farmers to extend their support to the government's paddy purchasing programme without being carried away by false information spread by the opposition for petty political gains.

He said he has directed PMB chairman K B Jayasinghe to pay for the paddy purchased without inconveniencing farmers.