We producers of rice watch with amazement the
Ministry of Trade and Consumer Affairs scrambling to import
expensive Basmati Rice on a priority basis with the limited
foreign exchange this country has.
Importing rice when the harvest is coming in is
bad enough. Government indenting high value material to satisfy
a miniscule portion of our population is ludicrous. That portion
of the market which can afford Basmati does not have holes in
their pockets. The private sector can easily satisfy their
requirements. One wonders whether the Ministry of Consumer
Affairs has any data on the number of households which live on
expensive varieties of rice.
It is unfortunate but true urban based Ministers
of Trade and officials of that Ministry seem to have a limited
knowledge of the local rice market or even the eating habits of
our people.
I venture to speculate even samba is not that
popular country — wide. Neither is it produced in all the rice
growing regions. One of the reasons of it being costly is the
limited quantity produced. So is the red variety. From the time
hybrid paddy was introduced in the late 1950’s growers were
encouraged to go in for white varieties. Senior citizens will
remember red was the earlier staple. But of recent the demand
for red has out grown production. Naturally market value tends
to climb. The solution is to advice the farming community to
switch onto what the market wants not to import to satisfy a
few. To be able to advice growers the Ministry must however shed
its naivete. Please advice the Minister - if that could be done
to someone who’s ego seems to be miles high - so that the
country gets a more realistic deal.
In another country in another era when the
population was deprived of their daily staple the queen’s
response to their complaint was "if there is no bread why don’t
they eat cake". Marie Antoinette he went to the guillotine and
France ended up in revolt. Let us be more intelligent. If not
even the bearded ones may not be able to keep Humpty Dumpty on
the wall.
Milroy Ratwatte
Badulla
