• Small, medium rice millers could supply their products to be sold at  Rs. 96-98 a kilo if paddy stocks were purchased at Rs.50-52 a kilo from  farmers

By Kelum Bandara 

All Ceylon Rice Millers’ Association, a representative body of small and medium scale mill owners, urged the government to sustain controlled prices for paddy from farmers and rice for consumers continuously, without loosening the grip at any point.  

Its Secretary Roshan Janaka de Silva told Daily Mirror over the phone from Polonnaruwa that small, medium rice millers could supply their products to be sold at Rs. 96-98 a kilo if paddy stocks were purchased at Rs.50-52 a kilo from farmers.   

Rice prices have spiked in the retail market leaving consumers in the lurch. The commonly consumed rice variety called ‘Nadu’ is sold at Rs.120 a kilo and Samba variety at Rs. 150 a kilo in most cases.   According to him, small, medium rice millers account for 50 percent of the market share and the large scale mill owners the rest. He said the government did not own any rice mill and therefore had no control over supply.   

“We handed over a set of proposals to the Agriculture Minister. Only the large scale millers have the strength to sustain a continuous supply of rice because of their financial capabilities and better storage facilities. Small, medium millers can do it for two or three months because of limited capacity in terms of storage and cash flow. Then, the large scale millers have a stake in price controlling. The Paddy Marketing Board and SATHOSA are the only government bodies involved in rice industry. But, they have no milling capacity,” he said.