Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2016-09-27

Review of the Government Paddy Purchasing Programme

- The Government Paddy Purchasing Programme, under this government, has been implemented up to now throughout the three consecutive harvesting Seasons of Maha 2014/15, Yala 2015 and Maha 2015/16. The Cabinet approved the implementation of the proposals made by Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, the Minister of Finance, to dispose the remaining paddy stock of the paddy purchased in the year 2015, following the government approved procurement procedure, prior to the commencement of the reaping of harvest of Yala 2016; to dispose the paddy stocks purchased in the year 2016 and stored in warehouses of the Paddy Marketing Board, during the months of October and November, where the higher price is reported; and to settle the outstanding balances to the General Treasury; and to settle the dues to the State Banks pertaining to paddy purchasing through utilizing the money derived from paddy disposal, with a view to implementing the said programme successfully in the future too, as per the recommendations made by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM).