Consumer Affairs officials inspect paddy storage facilities

Storage facilities of large scale rice millers including several of them operating in the North Central Province were inspected by Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) officials on Sunday on a directive from President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

The regional offices who conducted the inspection are due to submit their report to the CAA head office in Colombo today.

Among the stores inspected were those of  businessman Dudly Sirisena in Polonnaruwa.

The moves came after reports that rice was being sold at prices higher than the stipulated prices and shortages of some of the varieties.

Among the varieties short are the Red Raw rice.

President Dissanayake had instructed the CAA and other relevant officials to immediately check on the paddy stocks held by the millers.

This directive had been made during a meeting held with the state officials on Friday. The meeting had been attended by senior officials of both Agriculture Ministry and Department, Trade Ministry, Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA), Paddy Marketing Board as well as Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI).

The president had also instructed to create and update a database which would show the amount of paddy remaining with the millers, government as well as the intermediate sellers which would allow them to get details of stocks of paddy remaining within the country at any given time.

Mr Dissanyake had also instructed the officials to look into the pledge loans given to millers during 2023 and 2024 years to check whether the millers have the amounts of paddy they declare to obtain loans and how much rice they have produced. In addition a directive was made to make it essential for banks to consider declaration of paddy stocks when considering to provide pledge loans in future.

The president also agreed to the proposal made by the officials of  relevant authorities , to impose a control price for paddy and rice varieties at the beginning of the next cultivation seasons.

However, SJB former MP Dr Harsha de Silva said that the former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa too ordered to have a data base on rice stocks, but the scheme was not successful.

He said that the government needs to take effective steps to keep rice prices low inorder to protect the consumers while protecting the farmers.