Rice imports sink local paddy market, farmers left struggling

With the paddy harvesting for the Yala season commencing in the country, paddy farmers are grappling with plunging prices and growing financial distress.

The price of a kilogram of paddy has fallen to approximately Rs. 100, a sharp drop that farmers blame largely on continued rice imports, which have flooded the market and suppressed local demand.

Compounding the crisis, farmers in Aralaganwila’s Damminna area report crop losses due to the outbreak of plant diseases—problems they say could have been mitigated if fertiliser had been supplied on time.

U.K. Semasinghe, Chairman of the All Ceylon Small and Medium Scale Paddy Mill Owners’ Association, has urged the government to establish a guaranteed minimum price of at least Rs. 120 per kilogram to ensure farmers can recover their production costs and sustain livelihoods.