A shortage of rice or paddy cannot exist in Sri Lanka in compliance with the existing data and the required amounts of rice and paddy for consumption are available in the country, said the Consumer Affairs Authority.
In a statement, the CAA noted that this is mainly in the event that the country is receiving rice via the Indian credit line and and other forms of assistance, with most of last season’s paddy harvest remaining and the harvest of the Yala season is to be received in a matter of months.
However, an unnecessary shortage of paddy could be created due to the consumers’ conduct of stockpiling paddy for prices greater than the declared prices in the market, leading to the tendency among mill owners of selling rice for higher prices as well, it added.
Should the consumers stockpile rice for any given price at a growing tendency, it may be inevitable that the price of rice could surge in the market, the CAA further emphasised, thereby urging the consumers not to stockpile rice but to purchase them sufficing their daily consumption.
MIAP
