Paddy farmers in the North Central Province are stockpiling their paddy harvest, without selling it to the wholesale dealers, expecting a further price hike in paddy, said Paddy Marketing Board Chairman K. B. Jayasinghe.

As a result, the wholesale dealers have increased the purchasing price of paddy, he said.

The wholesale price of a kilo of Samba has increased from Rs 35 to Rs 47 while a kilo of Nadu which was purchased for a price of Rs 28-Rs 30 is being purchased by wholesalers at Rs 37 a kilo.

Jayasinghe warned that there would be a further increase in the price of rice in the retail market as a result of the wholesalers being forced to purchase paddy from farmers at a higher price.

Most of the tanks in ‘Rajarata’ are full now and hence a larger number of paddy fields will be cultivated during the forthcoming ‘Yala" season, he said.