With the increase of the import duty on wheat grain by Rs ten per kilo the per capita rice consumption in Sri Lanka has gone up by 15% in the recent times.

Director General of Agriculture authority Kamal N. Mankotte  said that the rice consumption per person has increased from 100 kilos per  annum to 115 kilos per annum.

The Director General said wheat flour consumption is still high among the Upcountry Tamil plantation workers and malnutrition is also high
among this community that lives in estate line houses amidst lower living standards and low income.

He further said most of the plantation residents are agricultural workers who do not possess their own land.

Therefore, they do not engage in paddy cultivation like other communities in rural areas. Their staple food is mostly wheat flour bread for generations.