News
Traders await next harvest to bridge seasonal rice deficit
View(s):- By Kasun Warakapitiya and S Rubatheesan
Nadu and kekulu rice will remain scarce until the next harvest reaches the maket.
Due to the scarcity of local rice varieties, wholesalers and retailers are selling imports and some are selling kekulu rice and nadu exceeding the maximum retail price.
Some wholesale traders at the Pettah market said the demand remains for local rice varieties versus imports.
T.M Ramachandran, 64, a rice wholesaler since 1986, said there is a shortage of red and white kekulu and it will remain that way until the harvest comes in.
He said the shortage and demand drive prices. Before Thaipongal, red kekulu sold for Rs 230 to Rs 300.
High demand for local rice among consumers, say traders. Pic by Akila Jayawardena
He suggested that farmers are expecting a higher price for the harvest and the paddy will reach the mills for Rs150 per kilogram. But, since 1.5 kilo of paddy is needed to produce a kilo of rice, the cost will be Rs 225.
“The cost exceeds the control price of Rs 220. As the Consumer Affairs took action against merchants selling rice exceeding the control price, the availability of local rice varieties dropped,’’ he said.
Affected paddylands in Kandawalai, Kilinochchi due to rains
He called on the government to improve state paddy storages as well as small-scale miller’s storage facilities and create more competition.
Another rice trader from the Pettah, D Rajan, 58, too, said it would take at least two weeks for the harvest to be converted to rice and reach markets, and until then the price of local varieties will not change. Imported nadu, keeri samba and kekulu are available, but consumers do not like these.
Merchant S. Ramaraj told the Sunday Times he does not sell local rice and instead offers imported rice. Consumers do not like the quality of imported rice, he said.
Consumers say that the government’s failure to control rice prices and the market had created scarcity.
Red rice which is recommended for diabetics is in very short supply.
Pensioner, Didula Gamage, 68, who lives in Nawala lamented the incapability of the government to control the price of rice.
Pensioner Sunil Premachnadra, 70, a resident of Kirulapone
too, said that he paid Rs 280
for red kekulu.
“We wanted change, but this is not the change we expected, the government should make red rice available. We are elderly people, we need nutritious food at affordable prices,” he said.
Homemaker A.S Samaranayake said that the government should not yield to large-scale millers.
She said that her daughter had been unwell and she was forced to buy rice above the control price. “The government should find where the stored rice is.’’
Meanwhile, with more than two weeks into paddy harvesting began in the North, farmers alleged that they are forced to sell their harvest at much lower prices as the government is yet to declare a Minimum Retail Price (MRP) for paddy.
“Nearly 50 percent of harvest is completed in Kilinochchi and other districts as farmers had commenced harvest earlier than scheduled due to the recent heavy rains,” said Muththu Sivamohan, Secretary of the Iranaimadhu Farmers’ Federation, the
largest collective farmers union in the North.
He alleged that the government, which declared it would ensure that farmers get a decent price for paddy through gazettation of MRP for paddy before harvesting began, had failed to do so, resulting in regional and major millers purchasing paddy at low prices. “Our farmers are quite disappointed at the shabby treatment by the government as we began harvesting a bit earlier compared to others as the cultivation season changes.”
Currently, local red nadu and samba varieties are being purchased at Rs 85-100 per kilo by local millers despite farmers alleging that the price is too low to the extent that they cannot even meet the expenses for the cost of production.
Heavy downpours received in the North earlier this week forced farmers in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu to begin the harvest much earlier than the celebration of Thai Pongal, or the harvest festival.
Following heavy rains on Thai Pongal day (January 14), all 14 sluice gates of the Iranaimadhu tank were opened, resulting in flooding in low-lying areas, including farmland.
S. Kulanayaham, a farmer who cultivated two acres of land, managed to harvest only one acre of land as the rest of the paddy plots were submerged in floodwaters.
“I had to sell the paddy at a lower price because of rainy weather and pest attacks. The rest were not harvested due to excessive water. I don’t know whether I would be able to harvest the rest,” he lamented.
| Loan scheme for small and medium scale paddy millers and cooperative societies The Treasury introduced a concessionary pledge loan scheme to distribute Rs 10 billion among small and medium-scale paddy millers and cooperative societies to help them buy paddy during the current Maha Season. Apart from the Rs. 10 billion loan to be disbursed by the local banks, it has also been proposed to buy paddy at the Minimum Purchase Price (MPP) declared by the Department of Agriculture to ensure a reasonable price for the paddy harvest of farmers, according to a circular issued by the Department of Development Finance of the Treasury. This concessionary loan scheme was introduced based on a Cabinet decision dated December 30 last year and has been implemented since January 3. Targeting (SME) paddy millers and cooperative societies, whose maximum daily paddy milling capacity is 25 metric tonnes a day, the borrowers can obtain loans up to Rs. 50 million at an annual interest rate of 7%. The loan should be repaid within 180 days, according to the circular. | |
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