Nihal Seneviratne, the media spokesperson for the Essential Food Importers Association, has called for a reduction in the customs duty on rice to help bring down retail prices. He suggested that if the current customs duty of Rs. 65 per kilogram is reduced to Rs. 50, rice could be sold at a retail price of Rs. 220 per kilogram.
Seneviratne explained that the importers supply rice to large-scale wholesalers, who then distribute it to smaller wholesalers, and ultimately to retailers. Throughout this distribution process, an additional 8-10% is spent on expenses such as transportation, loading, and unloading.
Although the government has allowed the private sector to import rice, they have imposed a short two-week window for these imports, which has led to challenges for importers. The short timeline means rice can only be imported from ports in the southern part of Tamil Nadu, India, where prices are higher. Seneviratne noted that rice from the northern part of India would be cheaper, but it is not feasible to import within the given time frame.
He also mentioned that about 40,000 metric tons of rice are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka by December 20th, with 440 metric tons of Nadu rice already unloaded at the Colombo Port as of December 12th, according to Port Media Spokesperson Seevali Arukgoda.
