The government has decided to purchase rice from large scale rice mill owners and supply it to the local market with a view of tackling the shortage of Nadu and Samba rice and maintain a stable price, Agriculture State Minister Vidura Wickremanayake said.
The government had to go before the rice mafia controlled by two leading mill owners after taking stern action against rice retailers for selling rice at high price without addressing the root cause of the problem, JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti alleged.
Sri Lanka has seen a rise in prices of rice since the latter part of 2013, with small and medium scale rice mills closing down and the Government having to import around two million metric tons of rice (2013-2018) to stabilise prices and maintain supply.
The skyrocketing rice prices were traced back to large scale millers holding an oligopoly of trade, the said rice millers continuing to push down the purchase price of paddy from the price taking farmers and creating artificial shortages to drive up the prices.
Araliya, New Ratna, Hiru, Nipuna and Menaka rice mills are the leading rice millers who are behind the mafia , he revealed.
The owner of Nipuna Rice Mills is MP Siripala Gamlath, while Menaka Rice Mills is owned by his brother.
Similarly, Hiru Rice Mills is owned by his brother-in-law. The Araliya Rice Mill is owned by former President Maithripala Sirisena’s brother Dudley Sirisena. The former President’s close associate L.J. Mitrapala is the owner of Ratna Rice Mills.
The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) and the Sri Lanka Police have jointly commenced raids on rice traders selling rice at prices higher than Maximum Retail Prices (MRP), President's Media Division said.
The Consumer Affairs Authority recently gazetted the maximum retail price of a kilogram of local samba and nadu rice at 98 rupees.
According to the President's Media Division, 1430 shops were inspected during raids conducted Thursday (Dec 19) and Friday (Dec 20)
The police said they were able to identify 512 stalls selling rice at a price higher than controlled price.
Meanwhile, Legal action has been initiated against 89 shops that have been selling rice at prices higher than the Maximum Retail Price (MRP).
But so far no raids were conducted to find hidden stocks of rice at the large stores complexes of rice mafia, Mr. Handunnetti said.
(LI)