Big time millers profiteering by starving market of rice, allege traders and small scale millers
Fear of a looming food crisis has seen a public already burdened by lack of fuel and gas and power outages scrambling to stockpile rice.
Orders placed four days back for local rice stocks by economic centre traders had not seen the light of day up until Friday, the Sunday Times learns. Imported rice stocks are being sold to consumers by rice traders at the Narahenpita Economic Centre.
"We didn't receive local rice stocks. We sell Indian rice at significantly higher costs," a wholesale trader said.
Last week, the Consumer Affairs Authority ( CAA) set a maximum retail price of Rs. 210 for two types of domestically-produced white and red rice. Although the CAA's move to safeguard consumers is commendable, it has resulted in large-scale rice mill owners curtailing the supply of local rice to the market, creating an artificial shortage and a price hike.
Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera last week instructed the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) to issue 10,000 tonnes of rice per month to ease the shortage. According to small and medium-scale rice millers this was the buffer stock collected by the government and artificial rice shortage has forced them to distribute the buffer stock in the middle of the year.
The PMB issues 1500 tonnes of rice to the market every month, and the decision to increase the supplies was aimed at keeping the prices under check, a PMB official said.
The prices of local rice have been increased unfairly and the CAA has
been advised to intervene if they increase further, Trade and Food Security Ministery Nalin Fernando said. “Rice mill oweners have restricted their supply with the imposition of maximum retail price for local rice by the Government and this has created shortages,” he said.
“The current rice scarcity is not caused by a lack of fertiliser. Largescale mill owners are creating it deliberately and are profiting by starving the market,” Small and Medium Scale Rice Millers Association secretary Muditha Perera claimed.
Rice is transported to Colombo only once a week due to the fuel crisis. It was normally a thrice-a-week practice. This was the initial reason for the rice shortage, now after the price control was declared by the CAA largescale millers have cut down their supply by about 50 percent, he alleged.
“If properly managed, the country might get by with the existing paddy stocks until next January. Normally, these millers release about 2000 tonnes of rice each day, but now just 700 tonnes are released per day,” he added.