Bumper stocks of paddy purchased from all districts
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- Created on Tuesday, 06 March 2012 19:37
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The Paddy Marketing Board said that already over 1,600 metric tons of paddy has been purchased and 800 metric tons of this amount were purchased from the Ampara district.
It has also purchased paddy from the districts of Kilinochchi, Mannar, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Anuradhapura districts and purchase from the Polonnaruwa district started yesterday.
The expected harvest in the Polonnaruwa district is 324,000 metric tons and from this amount the Paddy Marketing Board will purchase 30 percent while 50 percent will be purchased by the private sector and remaining 20 percent through the Cooperatives. The Cooperative Societies have been provided loan facilities for paddy purchases.
The Paddy Marketing Board informed that the highest paddy harvest of the Maha Season has been obtained from the Ampara district amounting to 345,000 metric tons.
A large extent of paddy lands left abandoned for several years in the Ampara district were cultivated during this Maha Season. Harvesting has been carried out using machinery since the extent of land was large.
Meanwhile the Ampara District Secretary Neil De Alwis said that arrangements have been made to store paddy stocks purchased from the Ampara district in Damana, Mahaoya, Samanthurai, Akkaraipattu, Potuwil Kongashandiya storage complexes and the paddy purchased at temporary purchasing centers are being transported to storage complexes by 11 mobile purchasing vehicles. He said that arrangements have also been made to transport the paddy stocks in the Cooperative storages to paddy stores around Colombo and make room for the new stocks to be placed in those stores.(niz+)
