The farmers who cultivate paddy in our country have managed to save 300 million US dollars in foreign exchange this year, Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said.
As the Cabinet has approved the holding of a National Agricultural Educational Exhibition this year, a discussion over the proposed event was held at the Ministry of Agriculture.
“A stock of 800,000 metric tons of rice was imported to Sri Lanka in 2022. This amount of rice is also the largest amount to be imported to this country in a year. Also, rice has not been imported from January to the end of the year during any other years. The government has spent 300 million US dollars to import this 800,000 metric tons of rice,” the Minister added.
“We have not imported a single grain of rice so far this year. The government provided many concessions and chemical fertilizers to the farmers for the last Yala season, the main season and for the 2023 Yala season.
“It is necessary to think broadly on the use of the excess rice and it is time to focus more on the production of rice varieties that can be exported,” the minister added.
source daily mirror
