No rice shortage

Sandasen Marasinghe and Irangika Range

Co-operatives and Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando told Parliament yesterday that there is no shortage of rice.

There was a surplus of rice stocks in the country. He said that these surplus stocks helped the government to replenish the market even during the recent drought.
There were occasions when surplus rice stocks had been exported but at the moment rice exporting has been suspended. He said that there were nearly 100,000 tonnes of paddy in warehouses and the stocks purchased from Ampara area would be released to the market shortly. The Minister was answering an oral question raised by UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake.