The Cabinet has approved the conversion of 30,000 metric tonnes of paddy held by the Paddy Marketing Board into rice for release to the market, with the aim of facilitating the government’s paddy purchasing programme.
At the 34th Food Policy and Security Committee meeting held on the 22nd, it was recommended that paddy stocks held by the Paddy Marketing Board be converted into rice through the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment and released to the market.
Accordingly, Cabinet approved a joint proposal submitted by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation and the Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development.
The Cooperative Wholesale Establishment will call for expressions of interest from rice mill owners registered with the Paddy Marketing Board to convert the 30,000 metric tonnes of paddy into rice and supply it in 5kg, 10kg, 25kg and 50kg packages.
A price committee will determine the paddy-to-rice conversion ratio and an appropriate price for the rice.
The committee will comprise officials from the Paddy Marketing Board, Cooperative Wholesale Establishment, Lanka Sathosa, National Post-Harvest Management Institute and Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute.
The rice produced will be released to the market through Lanka Sathosa, the cooperative network and private-sector operators.
