Small and medium-scale rice mill owners have warned that the price of a kilogram of rice could exceed Rs. 300 in the future due to the increase in the purchase price of a kilogram of paddy to Rs. 140-170 during the Maha season this year.
Meanwhile, market sources said that the price of a kilo of wet paddy has increased to Rs. 115-120 these days.
However, government sources say that loans (Odapana loans) have been issued to small and medium-scale paddy mill owners to purchase a kilo of wet paddy at Rs. 95 and a kilo of dry paddy at Rs. 115.
Accordingly, government sources further stated that loans will be issued to purchase Samba paddy at Rs. 120 per kilogram and Keeri Samba paddy at Rs. 130 per kilogram.
Meanwhile, farmers alleged that the government is continuously delaying the fixing of a guaranteed price for paddy.
Chairman of the Walawa Joint Farmers’ Organization S.K. Mahinda Samarawickrama said that farmers will not sell paddy to the government, which is waiting to buy paddy in small quantities because the private sector is buying paddy at a higher price.
“These days, in the paddy fields that are being harvested, the private sector buys paddy for Rs. 170 per kilo, and on the other side, the rice is dried and sold for between Rs. 290 and Rs. 300 per kilo. How can the government provide a guaranteed price for paddy if it cannot stop this? These people have not implemented anything they said while they were in the opposition even after gaining power,” chairman of the Walawa Farmers’ Organization said.
Meanwhile, many small-scale rice mills in the island have closed due to the lack of paddy stocks.
They said that since many farmers have increased the price of paddy, it is not possible to buy paddy at that price, produce rice and sell it at the government-controlled price.
Furthermore, these days, many shops do not have rice for sale, and only local basmati rice is available for sale.
A kilogram of local Basmati rice is sold for between Rs. 250 – 270.
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