11 February 2019 12:15 am
ECONOMYNEXT: Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry had allocated Rs.5 billion to purchase rice at guaranteed prices from farmers ahead of the upcoming major harvest season, the government said.
Under scheme operated by district secretaries, Samba rough rice (paddy) would be bought at Rs.38 a kilogram and Nadu and other varieties at Rs.38 a kilogram.
The Cabinet of ministers had approved the proposal by Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera to provide Rs.5 billion for paddy purchases.
In the 2018 Maha (major) cultivation season, Sri Lanka’s rice crop is expected to fully recover from multiple years of drought.