• All warehouses should be registered and paddy stocks declared

By Kelum Bandara

In a move to control the errant practices in rice trading, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardana to issue a gazette notification making it compulsory for the declaration of paddy stocks held by traders and mill owners. 

Minister Gunawardana told Daily Mirror that he received this instruction at the Cost of Living Committee meeting on Wednesday.

He said all the warehouses should be registered, and paddy stocks declared to the government.
The Minister said the rice price had shot up to Rs.140 a kilo due to the mafia-style trading by a coterie of mill owners.