Sri Lanka, Oct. 18 -- Lanka Sathosa (STO) incurred a loss of over Rs.15 billion (Rs.15,157,031,018) due to rice imports in 2014 and 2015 that violated formal procurement procedures.

It was revealed at the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) recently under the patronage of COPE Chairman MP Dr. Nishantha Samaraweera, to examine the Auditor General's reports for 2021 and 2022 and the current performance of Lanka Sathosa Ltd.

COPE noted that while the imported rice cost Sathosa over 27 billion rupees (Rs.27,011,980,142), the company only generated around 12 billion rupees (Rs.11,854,949,124) in revenue from its sale. The committee concluded that the imports were executed without a proper study of the domestic rice market, expected paddy ...