Deploying military to search hoarded rice sans intelligence a folly – FSP

By Anuradha Hiripitiyage

The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) says that deploying troops to search for hoarded rice by millers would not yield the desired results.

Addressing the media in Colombo yesterday (29), FSP Propaganda Secretary, Duminda Nagamuwa, highlighted that there had been numerous instances where governments failed to recover hoarded rice from rogue millers with the help of the military.

“The military should not be involved in this process. It is not politically appropriate either. We remember how Gotabaya’s attempt to deploy the military to inspect the mills failed. Therefore, we urge the government to create a new structure to inspect rice mills and warehouses,” Nagamuwa said.

Nagamuwa emphasised that the government should form village-level committees comprising representatives from farmer cooperatives and state officials to inspect rice mills. Members of such committees would have access to real grassroots data on the quantities purchased by millers and would be able to trace where those stocks are being hoarded, Nagamuwa said.

“The rice mill mafia continues to control the market even under this government, which is struggling to resolve the issue. The President claimed that the mills did not have large stocks. This is a laughable statement. In the last Yala and Maha seasons, Sri Lanka produced 4.6 million metric tons of rice. Normally, 3.7 million metric tons are sufficient for the country’s annual consumption. The surplus is used for animal feed, beer production, and other purposes. Even so, there should be leftover stocks. Sixty percent of the total cultivated area was used for paddy cultivation. Now, there is a shortage of Nadu rice in the country. This is impossible. A shortage of red rice could happen, but what we are seeing now is the result of a cartel created by four or five major mill owners.

“These large-scale mill owners release around 300,000 kilos of rice to the market daily. The country’s daily requirement is 600,000 kilos. There are twenty second-tier rice mills in Sri Lanka. They release around 100,000 kilos of rice to the market daily, which is 30% of the daily requirement. If the major mill owners, who currently release 300,000 kilos daily, reduce their release to 200,000 kilos and then to 100,000 kilos, a rice shortage will immediately occur and prices will rise. This is an artificially created situation.

“The government claims that the mills do not have excess rice without conducting proper inspections. The so-called inspections that have been conducted cannot yield the desired results. Ongoing inspections involve sending government employees to the gates of the mills, where they simply turn back without conducting any real checks. This method will not solve the problem. Therefore, we propose that the government form a joint committee comprising representatives from farmer cooperatives and state officials from various regions to inspect the mills.”

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