Treasury allocates Rs. 10.4 b to purchase Yala harvest

The Finance Ministry yesterday said Rs. 10.4 billion has been released to purchase about 200,000 metric tonnes of rice from the Yala harvest. 

The Ministry in a statement said that the funds were released on a directive by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Finance Minister. 

The Finance Ministry said funds had been released to the Paddy Marketing Board and the price per kilo has been set at Rs. 50. The Ministry said in previous years, a kilo of Nadu was bought at Rs. 38 while a kilo of Samba was purchased at Rs. 41. 

“The change in prices was made to ensure that paddy farmers would receive a fair price for their produce, in line with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s election manifesto,” the statement said. 

Warehouses of the Paddy Marketing Board have been opened and paddy purchasing has already begun, the Ministry added.