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Govt. intervenes to stabilise price of rice
A deadline for rice producers and traders to register their stocks with the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) ended yesterday amid plans by the Trade Ministry to buy their supplies and keep prices affordable.
The CAA in keeping with a gazette notification issued last Friday has collected the details from some dealers, but others have not done so. Accordingly, Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena is to seek cabinet approval to purchase rice stocks held by private traders and sell them at government outlets as a measure to control rice prices which are on the increase.
Mr Gunawardena told the Sunday Times that a deadline ended on Friday for traders to declare the quantity of the stocks available with them and the sizes of their warehouses.
He said that accordingly a proposal would be submitted to the Cabinet in the coming week for the Government to buy the traders’ stocks at a specified price. These stocks will be sold at state outlets including Laksathosa and cooperative stores.
The moves came as prices of widely consumed rice varieties were on the rise.
Mr Gunawardena said some of the dealers had stopped providing rice stocks to the Government and as a result the new method to buy the stocks had been introduced.
The CAA last week issued a gazette notification directing that no rice producer, rice miller, paddy and/or rice collector, store owner, distributor or paddy and/or rice wholesale trader, who has in his possession, custody or under his control any paddy and/or rice in any warehouses, silos, stores, containers and any other place unless such warehouse, silo, store, container and any other place is registered with the Consumer Affairs Authority.
The notification said they should furnish the information about the available stocks with them to the CAA within seven days.