Bumper harvest may compel rice exports

The government is planning to export rice with an all time record harvest of 400,000 tonnes (185 million bushels) recorded last year, Minister of Agriculture Hemakumara Nanayakkara said. The reported paddy harvest for the year 2007 was 350,000 tonnes.
Speaking to The Nation, Nanayakkara said various assistance extended by the state to the agricultural sector coupled with growing stability in the country were the main reasons for a massive output of paddy in 2008.

In order to protect the consumer, he said that the government has also taken steps to put in price controls so that the private mill owners do not exploit the market to their benefit. “We have already implemented a price control so that they won’t be able to manipulate the market,” Nanayakkara added.

He noted, however that the government was constrained to limit its purchases of paddy to 9% of the total production due to lack of storage facilities. “We are going to take steps to increase the storage capacity. In the meantime I have ensured that the Treasury allocates the required funds to purchase the harvest. This trend would lead to Sri Lanka becoming one of the highest paddy producers in the Asian region,” Nanayakkara asserted.

The non-Cabinet Minister noted that the government distributes free water to farmers, maintains irrigation networks throughout the country and provides subsidised fertiliser at a tremendous cost to the Treasury.

Meanwhile Deputy Director of Research of the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute (HARTI), Dr L.P.Rupasena said that the main reason for a massive production is due to the increase of cultivated lands than in previous years.
“The arable land has been increased due to the present peaceful situation in the East and some parts of north therefore people have started to grow paddy in whatever available land. Another reason for a huge paddy harvest is the subsidies given to paddy growers by the government,” he added.

Dr. Rupasena said that another cause for the record paddy harvest is the enthusiasm of the paddy growers to bring more and more land under the plough owing to good prices fetched by the commodity in recent times unlike in the past, when the returns were never commensurate with the inputs.

Speaking about the rice prices, Dr. Rupasena said that at present prices are somewhat decreased due to the huge harvest. “The current rate of Samba grade 1 is Rs. 64 to 66, raw red rice is sold at the range of Rs. 50 to 55 and raw white rice is sold at Rs 48.00 to 53. We have taken steps to give the best reasonable price to the consumer since we don’t like to exploit them at a time we can naturally lessen the prices of rice,” he asserted.

Comparing the prices of rice in year 2007 and 2008, Dr.Rupasena said that the price of samba is being decreased by 20% while red rice is down by 19.08% and raw (white) rice is also decreased by 12.32%.

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