Minister Wasantha resisted when Hiru questioned rice prices

The Matale–Hettipola–Minipe Joint Farmers’ Organisation staged a protest today (06) in Hettipola town demanding a fair price for paddy.

They later marched to the Wilgamuwa Divisional Secretariat and handed over a memorandum, according to the Hiru correspondent.

Meanwhile, a special discussion on paddy prices was held today at the Ministry of Agriculture with the participation of Agriculture Minister K.D. Lalkantha, Trade Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe, and others.

Rice traders, including Businessman Dudley Sirisena, also took part in the meeting.

After the discussion, when speaking to the media standing outside the discussion, the Trade Minister removed the microphone of a Hiru journalist.

Meanwhile, an extraordinary gazette notice has been issued by the Consumer Affairs Authority, revoking the 2022 gazette that prohibited the use of rice or paddy for animal feed production.

Earlier, Trade Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe had stated that the government was considering various measures to convert paddy stored in Paddy Marketing Board warehouses into rice.

According to the new gazette, the restriction on using rice or paddy directly for animal feed production, or as an ingredient in animal feed, has been lifted, allowing its sale, storage, transport, distribution, and purchase for such purposes once again.