Sri Lanka paddy cultivation improves

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s minor paddy (rough rice crop) was up 25 percent from a year ago at 1.83 million metric tonnes, based on the last estimate, though around the same area was cultivated.

Sri Lanka had a wide availability of fertilizer this year.

In 2022, though a fertilizer ban promoted by Sri Lanka’s Government Medical Officers Association and Athureliye Rathana, a monk in parliament, among others, was lifted, suppliers were hit due to forex shortages.

According to Census Department data, last year’s Yala crop was estimated at 1.1461 million metric tonnes.

The higher Yala crop came with 479,113 hectares cultivated by September (92 percent of the target), the same as last year.

Flood damage was estimated at 20,093 hectares.

With the Maha 2022 harvest of 2.63 million, availability was estimated at 4.46 million metric tonnes.

It would give 2.76 million kilos of milled rice.

With monthly consumption estimated at 211,930 metric tonnes, a surplus of 218,487 metric tonnes was forecasted for 2023.

Sri Lanka is getting record rains in the 2023 second half of an El Nino year, which usually leads to a record main (Maha) season harvest next year, though there are dry conditions in the first quarter when the rice is harvested.