No permission granted for rice imports: Siyambalapitiya

Colombo, April 13 (Daily Mirror) - No permission has been granted for the import of rice, other than Basmati rice for the needs of tourist hotels, Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said.

The Minister said this while speaking to the media in the Avissawella area regarding the allegations that the import of rice has been allowed.

The Minister further said that the government had allowed the import of rice when there was a risk of a rice shortage last February.

At that time, a quantity of rice that had been brought in after a few days was stuck in the port, so a week's time was given to release that particular quantity of rice, but that time has now expired, the Minister said.