Sri Lanka faces risk of rice shortage if imports are not made within two weeks

The Small and Medium Scale Rice Mill Owners’ Association in Sri Lanka has stated that if the government does not take steps to import rice within the next two weeks, there will be a severe shortage of rice.

Association Chairman U.K. Semasinghe emphasized that it is the government’s responsibility to implement long-term measures to resolve this issue.

“A long-term solution must be pursued. If not, this crisis could recur. The Paddy Marketing Board must develop a systematic plan to address this crisis by purchasing rice from the Yala harvest. Furthermore, as a short-term solution, if the government does not immediately import rice from abroad, there could be a serious rice shortage in the market under these circumstances.”

He also mentioned that regulating the distribution of rice for beer production and animal feed is a very important matter.

Meanwhile, former Director of Agriculture K.B. Gunaratne stated that instead of providing compensation for the damage caused by the ongoing floods, steps should be taken to replant the affected crops.