A shipment of 11,000 MT of rice from India arrived here on Tuesday to help the economic crisis hit Sri Lankans celebrate the traditional national new year.

The Ministry of Trade said that another 40,000 MT of rice imported via the Indian Line of Credit will reach Sri Lanka on Monday (11).

The rice is being offered under a credit line of $1 billion to Sri Lanka announced by India recently towards the purchase of food, medicine and other essential commodities. Of this credit line, $150 million is earmarked for rice supplies to Sri Lanka.

In the middle of its worst economic crisis in decades, Sri Lanka has been hit by a critical shortage of basic necessities such as medicine, food fuel, cooking gas, etc.

When rice is harvested it is at peak quality. Everything that happens to the rice after that impacts its quality and yield, which in turn impacts profit margins. One part of the process, the removal of water, is vital to both quality and yield metrics.

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Trade said on Monday it has decided to import 100,000 tonnes of white rice from Myanmar to control the rising price of rice in local markets.

The government of Sri Lanka has planned to import 400,000 metric tons of rice in a bid to increase supply against rising rice prices in the South Asian country.

Sri Lanka has sought a million tonnes of rice as a gift from China government ministers says which is expected to make good an expected crop loss from during the main Maha cultivation season from a chemical fertilizer ban.

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers approved to import of 200,000 MT of Nadu Rice and 100,000 MT of GR 11 short Grain Rice as a substitute for Samba Rice.

Sri Lanka’s cabinet of minister has approved the import of 300,000 metric tonnes of rice to increase the supply, a government statement said, with crop losses expected due to the use of organic fertilizer.