President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has instructed state banks to provide loan facilities to the Paddy Marketing Board by retaining stocks of paddy as security.
President Rajapaksa has said a program should be initiated with the aim of purchasing paddy at competitive rates and maintaining an adequate paddy reserve in the possession of the government.
The President made this observation while inspecting the head office of the Paddy Marketing Board today.
The President’s Media Division said the purpose of this visit was to inquire into the programmes initiated for the purchase, stockpile, and sale of rice during the Maha season.
At present, the Paddy Marketing Board has the capacity to maintain a rice reserve of 315,000 metric tons. The President had instructed officials to take necessary steps to increase it to 400,000 metric tons.
Meanwhile, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa instructed the officials to transform the Paddy Marketing Board into a profitable institution while eliminating irregularities.
