Minister of Agriculture, Rural Economic Affairs, Livestock Development, Irrigation and Fisheries & Aquatic Resources Development P. Harrison said that everything has been finalized by the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB) to purchase the paddy harvest of 2018/19 Maha season via 220 PMB stores and 1500 private sector stores.
According to the Minister paddy is to be purchased under a guaranteed price of Rs 41.00 per kg of Samba and Rs 38.00 per kg of Nadu.
The government has already allocated Rs 6.1billion for this purpose.
The Minister said that a special committee will be appointed to monitor the paddy purchasing of the private sector and will take strict legal action against those who purchase paddy at the cost of less than the certified price.
The Department of Agriculture expects the paddy harvest of the Maha season to be the largest in recent history.
According to the sources of Department of Agriculture, the expected harvest for this season is around three million tons. This harvest will ensure that the country has enough stocks to last the next 10 months and no need to import rice.