The Sri Lankan government is desperately trying to buy food to feed its people while bracing for a 40 per cent loss in paddy yield from the Maha season as a result of which analysts believe authorities will be compelled to increase rice imports. Rice is the staple food of the Sri Lankan people and [...]

Business Times

Maha season harvest to drop by 40%

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The Sri Lankan government is desperately trying to buy food to feed its people while bracing for a 40 per cent loss in paddy yield from the Maha season as a result of which analysts believe authorities will be compelled to increase rice imports.

Rice is the staple food of the Sri Lankan people and with the largest cropping season having ended authorities have found that they will not have enough food to feed its citizens as a result of which they have turned to India and Myanmar to fill the rice warehouses.

The crop forecast by the Department of Agriculture indicated a 30 per cent loss but it is learnt now that official figures are likely to indicate a higher yield loss in paddy amounting to 40 per cent.

Sri Lanka requires about 185-196, 000 MT of rice per month and so authorities need to fill the gap on the reduced supply of locally produced rice.

A government needs to provide food to its people and maximise on contribution to food security but whether it is affordable is another question, Peradeniya University Crop Science Snr. Prof. Buddhi Marambe told the Business Times.

Purchasing more imported rice would mean more foreign exchange going out of the country, he noted.

Demand for rice increases particularly during the New Year holidays in April and when school holidays are around.

Cabinet approval was granted to import 300,000 MT of rice and 30,000 MT had been imported from Myanmar and it is likely that India’s US$1 billion credit line will also prioritise on rice. Sri Lanka had already imported rice from India as well.

Sri Lanka has always adopted the ad hoc policy of protecting farmers during the good times and its consumers during the bad times.

In this respect, authorities bracing themselves for a crisis in terms of a food shortage have been running hither and thither to buy rice for Sri Lanka. This was clearly evident when during their bad times some of their good friends like China refused to grant 1 million MT of rice despite the two countries marking a 70 year relationship, analysts said.

In this respect the government liberalised the import of rice, clearly indicating the government’s desperation in getting food on the table. This allows for importers to bring rice into the country with the aim of filling the gap in rice shortage.

Last year Sri Lanka enjoyed a good harvest that produced 3,061,394 MT of paddy during the Maha season in 2020/2021.

However, Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage refused to accept there is a shortage and insisted that the government is importing rice to control the price of rice in the local market due to the “rice mafia”.

He believes Sri Lanka has sufficient stocks of rice and that even though rice is imported it is meant to stabilise prices. However, the prices have increased substantially in the local market. The minister confirmed that rice is prioritised under the new credit line from India.

The minister is of the notion that there will only be a 20 per cent drop in yields on average for paddy from the last Maha season.

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