Govt. finalising MoUs for import of rice

• ‘We chose needed types, volumes to place the orders’ – Rishad
• More than a month’s rice stocks now being prepared
• Rice from Thailand and Myanmar coming
• CWE starts pulling PMB paddy stocks to mill right away
• Pakistan prices too high at this moment’ – Pakistan’s Actg HC Sipra  

 Sri Lanka, having concluded international ‘rice talks’ successfully, began finalising the MoUs on Monday 3 July to proceed with the orders. Altogether the country expects to yield a month’s supply of fresh rice tranche by the initiatives.  

“My officials are now working on two MoUs – Thailand and Myanmar. These will be finalised and submitted to these countries as soon as possible. Our government-to-government level rice call a success,” said the Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen on 31 July at his Ministry.

He was meeting his top officials to get updates on rice tranche to be purchased from abroad to end the rice shortfall. The purchases are made on the directions of President Maithripala Sirisena and the Cost of Living Committee of the Government. 

Accordingly, an MoU is being drawn by Minister Bathiudeen’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce to import 100,000 MT of par boiled (Nadu) rice and another 25000 MT white raw rice from Thailand. Another MoU is being drawn to import 30000 MT of white raw rice from Myanmar. Both these Memorunda of Understanding are at Government to Government level. Another rice call on Government to Foreign Private Sector, with Indian suppliers is being worked and prices being negotiated for a huge 100,000 MT par boiled (Nadu) rice, and is expected to be clinched at any time.

 Meanwhile Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan Dr. Sarfraz Ahmad Khan Sipra during his meeting with Minister Bathiudeen on 31 July informed Minister Bathiudeen to wait for Pakistani Govt-to-Govt supplies till September as the current prices in Pakistan are too high for Sri Lankan market-around $480 per MT. By September the prices are expected to fall to $400-410 range so that Sri Lanka can start placing the orders.

 On the same day 31 July, the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) under Minister Bathiudeen started pulling paddy stocks for milling. On the orders the Cost of Living Committee on 26 July, the CWE started extracting 51000 MT of paddy lying with the Paddy Marketing Board’s warehouses to mill in CWE’s own mills as well as through the private millers. The total rice tranche for expected consumption after milling this paddy stock is 32000 MT. The milled rice will be given to Lanka Sathosa under Minister Bathiudeen to be retail-sold to local consumers at the lowest possible price below the market prices for rice.

As a result of international MoUs and domestic paddy milling, a total of 187,000 MT of rice is now expected to flood the market immediately. With the expected Indian rice stocks of 100,000 MT, the total tranche in pipeline is a huge 287000 MT – an excess of 87000 MT above the country’s rice consumption of 200,000 MT each month.