The government has bought more than 46,000 metric tonnes of paddy under its Yala season procurement programme, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Namal Karunaratne said on Monday.
Speaking at a media briefing, the deputy minister said the purchasing programme is still under way, Ada Derana reported.
A new channel: mills and cooperatives
Karunaratne said the government has now begun purchasing paddy through rice mills and cooperative societies, with state intervention — a change from buying solely through the Paddy Marketing Board’s own collection centres.
That extends a mechanism the government put in place last week, when it opened interest-free loans of up to Rs. 25 million to rice millers disbursed through District Secretaries, intended to keep private buyers active at the guaranteed price alongside the board’s own purchasing.
The drive has slowed sharply
The programme opened on 13 July with the board siting purchasing centres in the districts recording the largest harvests, and against a stated target of about 39,500 tonnes.
| Date | Tonnes bought |
|---|---|
| July 13 (opening day) | 25 |
| July 19 | 305 |
| July 24 | 5,390 |
| July 28 | 7,267 |
| August 4 | ~15,000 |
| August 11 | 27,458 |
| August 25 | 45,362 |
| August 31 | 46,000+ |
The pace has changed markedly. Purchases roughly doubled between 4 and 11 August, and again between 11 and 25 August. Since the 45,362-tonne figure of 25 August, the total has advanced by only about 600 tonnes in six days.
Ada Derana did not report a reason for the slowdown. It is consistent with a harvest peak passing — the board buys to put a floor under farmgate prices while supply surges, and that pressure eases as the crop clears — but no official explanation was given.
Past the target, still buying
The government has now exceeded its own target by about 6,500 tonnes, or roughly 16%. Cabinet Spokesman Minister Nalinda Jayatissa has also said purchases surpassed the initial projection.
Buying past the threshold rather than stopping at it is consistent with what Jayatissa signalled in mid-August, when he said further purchasing was planned once the target was met.
What has not been reported
Ada Derana did not say how many purchasing centres remain open, how much paddy the board now holds in storage, how much of the 46,000 tonnes was bought through the new mill and cooperative channel, or when the Yala programme will close. It gave no figure for what the programme has cost.
