Marandagahamula rice warehouses reopen to boost rice supply

Sri Lanka’s government has revived long-abandoned rice warehouses in the Marandagahamula wholesale rice complex after nearly 13 years, filling them with rice stocks as part of a program aimed at strengthening national food security and stabilizing market prices.

Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe announced the development in a Facebook post today (March 14), stating that the warehouses owned by the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) are now being used to store government rice stocks.

Marandagahamula had gradually developed into one of the country’s most influential rice trading centers in the past, with the ability to influence rice prices nationwide. Rice mill owners from major paddy-producing districts such as Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Ampara and Kurunegala regularly transported their rice products to the market. Wholesale traders from Colombo and other major cities also visited Marandagahamula daily to purchase rice.

In 2013, a wholesale rice trading complex was constructed in Marandagahamula at a cost of several million rupees. The facility included two warehouses belonging to the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE). However, the warehouses remained unused for about 13 years and were left abandoned, causing the buildings to gradually deteriorate.

Each of these warehouses has the capacity to store approximately 75,000 metric tons of paddy, and the minister noted that it was unfortunate that such large storage facilities had been allowed to fall into disrepair for more than a decade.

Following the rise of the National People’s Power (NPP) government, a program was launched under the ministry to revive the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) as the country’s national bulk supplier. The objective of the initiative is to restore government influence over market price regulation, which had previously been largely controlled by private-sector traders.

Under the program, the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) is working together with the Paddy Marketing Board to implement the government’s rice distribution plan.

Through this initiative, paddy purchased by the government is processed into rice by small- and medium-scale rice mill owners across the country. The rice is then gradually released to the market to ensure a stable and adequate supply.

As part of efforts to guide and strengthen the program, an inspection was recently conducted at the Marandagahamula warehouses, where government rice stocks are now being stored.

According to the minister, a warehouse that had not stored even a single sack of paddy or rice for around 13 years is now filled with rice, marking a significant step in restoring the country’s rice supply infrastructure.

The Marandagahamula warehouses of the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE), located at the center of the country’s major rice market, are expected to play a key role in the rice supply chain and support the government’s broader plans to improve food security and ensure a continuous supply of rice for the public.