Govt. to release rice stocks to manage prices

Cabinet has given approval for the release of fresh rice stocks via Sathosa to keep prices stable, ahead of the April New Year festival period, an official said yesterday. 

Cabinet Co-Spokesman Dr. Ramesh Pathirana told the weekly Cabinet briefing that the Government was also prepared to import rice to meet any market shortfall. 

Typically prices of essential items including rice see an uptick in prices close to the April festival period but Dr. Pathirana acknowledged this had worsened due to pandemic impact. 

“Commodity prices are increasing around the world. This is partly because countries like India have seen their harvests fall due to the pandemic and have also limited their food exported due to the same reason. As a result we are seeing prices of items such as green gram and other pulses increase significantly in the local market. However, the Government is attempting to address this situation,” he said. 

The Paddy Marketing Board will release stocks to be milled and made available via State-run Sathosa outlets to provide consumers will lower priced rice, he said.