SUNIL JAYASIRI 
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Paddy prices decline
Paddy prices have dropped drastically with the harvesting of the Yala cultivation in paddy producing areas in the country, the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute said today.
The price remains as low as Rs.23 a kilo for the Nadu variety, which is much less than the government’s price guaranteed for farmers last year. Last year the government assured Rs.28 per kilo. This price is reported to be hardly sufficient to cover the production costs, according to farmers.
The institute stressed the need for proper management of stocks to maintain the prices.
It was explained that there are two options available to maintain the price stability. The first one according to the institute is state purchasing while the other option is the release of stocks to the market according to the demand by the farmers themselves.
The institute said Sri Lanka could also follow a number of other countries where the farmers are trained to store the stocks. While accepting that this is a costly method the institute also said it would be possible to provide loans for the farmers keeping the their paddy as a collateral.
Meanwhile the institute said Sri Lanka should be able to export rice if the quality of grains is maintained at the Yala harvest this year.
The institute said harvests of 1,916,138 tons are expected for the Yala season this year.
A spokesman from the institute told the Daily Mirror that an increased harvest is expected in this season with the cultivation of barren paddy fields while cultivation of paddy in the North and the East would also contribute to the large harvest. (Yohan Perera)
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