Govt. has purchased over 1,900 metric tons of paddy since July

Colombo, July 21 (Daily Mirror) - The government has purchased a total of 1,910 metric tons of paddy as of yesterday (20), Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said.

Speaking at the media briefing to announce Cabinet decisions today (21), the Minister said the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) has spent Rs. 229.35 million on paddy purchases since the procurement programme commenced on July 13.

He said the government aims to purchase a total of 39,500 metric tons of paddy, with Rs. 6 billion allocated to the PMB for the programme. 

In addition, a further Rs. 10 billion has been allocated under the ‘Odapana’ loan scheme to support the initiative.

Minister Jayatissa said the government had initially planned to open 143 paddy warehouses for the purchasing programme. However, as harvesting has not yet commenced in all areas, only 71 warehouses are currently in operation.

He noted that the 71 warehouses had purchased 1,910 metric tons of paddy by yesterday, with the PMB allocating Rs. 229.35 million for the procurement process.