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PM directs Customs to immediately clear essential food items in port
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has instructed Sri Lanka Customs to immediately clear all essential food items currently in the port.
The prime minister has issued this directive during the Cost of Living (CoL) Committee meeting held on Sept. 24 via video conference, the PM’s Office said. He issued the directive to the Imports and Exports Controller General and the Director General of Sri Lanka Customs.
It had been decided during the meeting to ensure that the essential food items cleared from the port are distributed to the general public through the Sathosa outlets and through the importers of essential goods, expeditiously.
It was emphasized that the Ministry of Trade and agriculture officers should take responsibility to release rice and other essential food items to the market without any shortage.
Approval was also granted to the request made by State Minister D. B. Herath to obtain animal feed including maize from the international market under the existing system until the local maize crops are harvested.
Meanwhile during the meeting, Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena requested the Prime Minister to expedite the investigation into the complaint made by him regarding the allegations made by the former Executive Director of the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) who resigned recently.
The prime minister made a phone call to the IGP at that moment and informed him to expedite the investigation, the PM’s Office said
The Paddy Marketing Board has approximately 115,000 metric tonnes of paddy stocks purchased from farmers, which are currently stored in the Board’s warehouses, and it has been planned to retain a sufficient buffer stock from these reserves and sell the remaining quantity in order to provide the necessary storage space and financial resources for the purchase of paddy from farmers during the upcoming Yala season.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation to sell the aforementioned paddy stocks
following a formal tender procedure.
The Promotion of Export Agriculture Act, No. 46 of 1992 provides the legal provisions for regulating and promoting the export agriculture sector in this country.
Taking into consideration administrative changes and sectoral developments that have taken place over time, approval was granted at the Cabinet Meetings held on 2023-09-04 and 2025-08-11 to amend the said Act, which has not been updated for over 30 years.
The proposed amendments are intended to amend the designations of the Head of the Department of Export Agriculture and other officials, and to provide a clearer definition of the term “the export agricultural crop.”
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation to publish in the Government Gazette the Draft Export Agriculture Promotion (Amendment) Bill, prepared in all three languages by the Legal Draftsman to amend the Export Agriculture Promotion Act, No. 46 of 1992, and thereafter submit the same to Parliament for its concurrence
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