Govt. assures solutions to shortage in rice and coconut within next two weeks

By Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera   

Steps are being taken to distribute one million coconuts  through Sathosa outlets at a price of Rs. 130 within the next two weeks,  Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development  Wasantha Samarasinghe said yesterday.    He told Parliament that state-owned plantations such as  Chilaw Plantations Limited and Kurunegala Plantations Limited (KPL) were  instructed to provide their coconut produce to Sathosa outlets at the  latest tender price of Rs. 110 a nut without calling fresh tenders.   

The Minister said coconuts will be distributed in urban areas as the shortage is more acute in urban areas than rural areas.   

Minister Samarasinghe said rice millers agreed to release  200,000 kilos of rice daily to Sathosa outlets at Rs. 220 a kilo from yesterday after a discussion between the President and the rice millers.    He said rice millers pointed out that they could not  release rice stocks due to bank bonds and that the government intervened  to resolve their issue. “Now, they agreed to issue 200,000 kilos of  rice to Sathosa outlets from yesterday,” he said.     The Minister said the government decided to remove import  restrictions on rice import till December 21 midnight and that it is  expected that some 50,000 to 70,000 metric tonnes of rice will be  imported to the market by December 21.   

He also said some 70,000 metric tonnes of rice will also be imported through Lanka Sathosa and State Trade Corporation.   

The Minister said 10,200 metric tonnes of rice will be  received through the orders placed by the Lanka Sathosa and State Trade  Corporation after December 20 and another stock of 41,600 metric tonnes  after that. “This will relieve the shortage in rice supply,” the  Minister said.