With the opening up of paddy cultivation in the North and East likely to cause an excess harvest in the near future, the Government is now aiming at exporting its rice produce.
During the Yala season the government expects production of 1.7 million MT of paddy compared to 1.2 million MT produced last year, the Trade Ministry Secretary Sunil S. Sirisena told the Business Times.
He noted that the country is likely to face an excess paddy production due to the added contribution from the North and East. In this respect, the government is currently formulating a strategy to ensure this excess produce will be put to effective use. Mr. Sirisena pointed out that the government will have to take a decision to tackle this situation that could come about in the near future. The government is currently looking at a possibility of exporting the rice to the Philippines and the Middle East. However, the concerns are that even in the export of rice crop most countries consume the long grain variety and Mr. Sirisena noted there needs to be at least 50,000 MT available for export.
With the government already purchasing the quality paddy produce by farmers at the guaranteed price of Rs.28 for Nadu and Rs.30 for Samba the latter are not expected to be affected. It was pointed out that the government is currently aware of the prevailing situation and together with the Agriculture Ministry was taking steps to avoid this problem.
Providing the estate sector with low-priced rice as they mainly consume wheat flour is part of other measures to be adopted, he noted. |
E-mail
