The government is prioritizing the provision of a relief package with essential food items to low-income families in anticipation of the upcoming Sinhala and Tamil New Year.
To address this, the Food Policy and Security Committee convened in Parliament yesterday, chaired by Ministers K.D. Lalkantha and Wasantha Samarasinghe.
During the meeting, members discussed strategies to ensure the availability of essential food items without shortages during the festive season and ways to keep their prices under control.
This year’s budget has allocated Rs. 1 billion to provide essential food items at subsidized prices to low-income families, with a detailed discussion on ensuring the proper use of these funds.
The committee emphasized reducing the fluctuation of essential commodity prices in the market and explored measures to lower the prices of bakery products.
The purchase of paddy was also a key point of discussion, with a follow-up planned on the amount of paddy purchased under loan facilities given to rice mill owners.
Ministers instructed officials to investigate reports that some rice mill owners were using loans meant for paddy purchases for other purposes.
It was revealed that several large-scale rice mill owners have secured over Rs. 15 billion in loans for paddy procurement.
Additionally, the committee encouraged small-scale rice mill owners to purchase paddy.
