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| Thursday, 25 November 2004 |
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Rice millers pledge to reduce rice prices to Rs. 30 per kilo from January by Shirajiv Sirimane The Rice Millers' Associations in the provinces have said that they would provide rice to the Colombo District for less than Rs. 30 per kilo from next January. According to the organiser, Small and Medium Scale Paddy Stocktakers' Association, W. N. N. Weenadipathi this has been made possible due to the recent budget proposal to provide incentives to rice millers. He said that in the Polonnaruwa District alone there were over 200 small and medium rice mills that were shut down in the last three years. They owe the state banks over Rs. 480 million. Some mill owners have to pay nearly Rs. 7 to 8 million each with interest. In addition to this problem the then government also imported rice during the harvesting season which resulted in the mill owners being unable to sell their produce. "We fell into a deeper financial crisis after this and had no option other than to close business," he said. Weenadipathi said that the budget had proposed to provide financial incentives to mill owners and after this pledge owners have been reactivated. The government has assured a grace period of seven years or 14 instalments to pay back their loans obtained from the Bank of Ceylon, People's Bank and Rajarata Development Bank. The government would also deduct 25 percent from the outstanding dues owed by the farmers to the three banks. There would be a financial incentive from the government for the Rajarata Development Bank. "Already over 20 mills that were closed have been reopened since there was a pledge that there was not going to be any legal action against them," he said. He said that the mill owners would obtain short-term advances from other sources and start buying paddy from farmers at the rate of Rs. 15 per kilo. "The rice would be sold in Colombo for less than Rs. 30 per kilo," he said. He said that the credit should also go to government politicians in the area who took up this issue. |
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