Government of Sri Lanka Lifts Duty on Rice Imports

With the intention of easing the burden of the people, the Government of Sri Lanka has decided to sanction the duty-free import of rice with effect midnight (27th).

This decision was taken after a special meeting that President Mahinda Rajapaksa held with Minister of Agriculture Maithripala Sirisena, Minister of Trade Bandula Gunawardena and Minister of Foreign Affair Rohitha Bogollagama, Secretary to the President and the Secretaries of the Ministries of Finance and Trade.

After discussing at length the current market situation with respect to rice, it was decided to counter hoarding, artificial scarcity, and consequent price hikes designed to bring the Government to disrepute and to bring relief to the people at the time of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year.

Therefore the Government has granted permission to any person or organization to import rice sans duty.

As a result the Rs. 20 currently charged as duty per kilo of rice will be removed. It is expected that the price of rice will significantly drop in the coming weeks as a result.

Minister Maithripala Sirisena emphasized that steps would be taken to ensure that the local rice producer is not adversely impacted as a result of this decision.

Rice has already been named as an essential item through gazette notification and that the decision was taken in accordance with the Consumer Protection Act, Minister Gunawardena said. He further added that a ceiling on the price of rice might have to be set if it is found that unscrupulous traders attempt to artificially maintain a high price.

Source: Government of Sri Lanka

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