(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – President Ranil Wickremesinghe says the International Monetary Fund’s loan facility is expected to be implemented in March and reducing bank interest rates in relation to the gradual reduction of inflation will be considered.
The President mentioned this while attending a discussion held at the President’s Office Thursday (16) to find out about the problems faced by small and large scale rice mill owners and the steps to be taken to resolve them.
The owners of rice mills pointed out that the production cost of a kilo of rice has increased due to the increase in fuel prices, electricity charges, machinery maintenance costs, increase in transport costs and all other production and administrative costs and they will incur losses by selling their products at the current price of rice in the market.
They also presented the difficulties faced by having to pay an interest rate of 28% on bank loans taken to buy paddy.
It was also mentioned here that the cost of production of a kilo of paddy has increased due to the rapid increase in the price of agricultural inputs in farming activities, and that farmers have to pay high interest for loans taken from banks for cultivation activities.
The rice mill owners explained that the increase in the farmer’s production cost as well as the cost of rice production of the rice mill owners have made it difficult to maintain the rice industry and requested an immediate relief be given with the intervention of the government.
Drawing attention to this, the President said the government’s expectation is to provide all possible relief to consumers as well as farmers.
The President instructed the officials to urgently look into possible solutions to the problems faced by the rice producers and to reduce the production cost of the farmer and increase the production. President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake, President’s Senior Adviser on Economic Affairs Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, Presidential Adviser on Food Safety Dr. Suren Batagoda, and government officials, representatives representing small and large scale rice production companies including Mr. Dudley Sirisena attended the discussion.
