Opposition MP Harsha de Silva has accused the government of pursuing policies that simultaneously burden consumers and farmers, warning that the poorest Sri Lankans are paying the price.
In a post on ‘X’, MP de Silva highlighted two recent decisions: raising taxes on corn imports, which he said has driven up chicken and egg prices for families already struggling to afford protein, and importing 150,000 metric tons of rice, which has left paddy farmers unable to sell their harvest at viable prices.
“The Ministry of Agriculture admitted there is a problem at a recent session of the Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance (COPF),” de Silva noted, adding that the Paddy Marketing Board’s capacity to intervene in the market is limited to just three or four times a year.
He also criticized the 2020 shutdown of the Shakthi Rice Cooperative, established to break the rice oligopoly and support small millers and farmers, without any replacement mechanism.
“Restart Shakthi. Stop policy that punishes the poor from both ends,” de Silva urged, calling for urgent corrective measures to protect both consumers and producers. (Newswire)