COLOMBO, April 1 -- Sri Lanka will permit private importers to bring in up to 1,040 metric tonnes of substitute rice varieties to ease a shortage of Samba varieties, Cabinet Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa told reporters on Tuesday (March 31).

The decision follows warnings from the Department of Agriculture Sri Lanka, the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, and the Rice Research and Development Institute Sri Lanka that production during the 2025/26 Maha season would be insufficient, with an acute shortage expected by May 2026.

Jayatissa said the Food Policy and Security Committee had identified the need to import equivalent rice varieties to stabilize market supply and prices.

Under the approved measure, importers ...