He further said rice would be sold at all Sathosa outlets in keeping with the control price determined by the Government. The Minister told journalists that at present, rice was being sold according to control prices at all 325 Sathosa outlets island-wide. Minister Bathiudeen went onto accuse certain rice mill owners of hiding rice stocks claiming they cannot sell rice according to control prices set by the Government. Meanwhile, the drought had also had a considerable impact on rice stocks, he admitted. As such, the Government decided to import 250,000 metric tonnes of rice to avoid a rice shortage and provide rice at a control price, he explained.

Source: Sunday Times February 15, 2017 08:00 UTC