50,000 MT of rice to be exported to make room for Yala harvest
Saturday, 6 July 2013 00:00
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By Uditha Jayasinghe
Cabinet nod has been given for 50,000 MT of rice to be exported to make room for the Yala season harvest.
Cabinet had approved a proposal by Cooperative and Internal Trade Minister Johnston Fernando to export 50,000 MT of rice to make warehouse space for the upcoming harvest. However, the export will only be made after another 50,000 MT are kept as a buffer stock to protect against sudden shortfalls in the market. Cabinet Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella this week defended the move, insisting that releasing such a large stock of rice into the market would result in plummeting prices, and pointed out that the stock would be made up by the Yala harvest.
“All expectations are that the pending harvest will be very good so we need room to stock it. Excess stocks of rice have been exported in the past and the government has earned around US$ 6 million from the last sale,” he said.
Responding to questions on the possible downgrading of the fertiliser subsidy, Rambukwella noted that the Agriculture Minister had noted during the Cabinet meeting that there were shortfalls in some departments and a decision had been made to submit a complete report on the situation at next week’s meeting.
Earlier reports have indicated that the Government will slash the fertiliser subsidy by 25% but the move has elicited strong disapproval from farmers who have been protesting vehemently against the move.
A reduction in the subsidy is estimated to save the Government Rs.7 billion. However, farmers contend that fertiliser shortages exist in the market and that produce prices will increase if the hand-outs are curtailed.
