South Asia

 
Published: Thursday 15 May 2008

Lanka warns rice hoarders: In the face of soaring food prices, the Sri Lankan government has said it would come down heavily on rice hoarders and traders flouting a price control order on rice--Sri Lanka's staple food. On April 16, the government declared price control of rice and stipulated that the retail price of rice must not exceed Rs (Lankan) 70 (US $0.65). The decision came after some varieties of rice were found sold at more than Rs (Lankan) 150 a kg in the market. The Consumer Affairs Authority has arrested a few wholesalers selling rice at a higher rate than the stipulated prices and seized some 150 bags of rice. Meanwhile, the government has begun to look for rice imports from Myanmar after India banned rice exports.

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