Colombo, Oct 23 (newsin.asia) – Sri Lanka, on Monday launched an open international tender to import 200,000 metric tonnes of rice to prevent a severe rice shortage in the island country.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in a statement said the tender was open to suppliers worldwide and would close on Oct 30.
“We are making every effort to ensure that there will be no shortage for our consumers,” Commerce and Industry Minister, Rishard Bathiudeen said in the statement.
Sri Lanka has launched the tender under the International Competitive Bidding Procedure, which means that any qualifying foreign government or a foreign private sector supplier is able to bid.
Sri Lankan rice importers too are eligible to take part in the latest bidding.
Of the 200,000 metric tonnes of rice called, Sri Lanka expects 100,000 metric tonnes to arrive in Colombo by the end of November while the remaining 100,000 metric tonnes is expected to arrive by end of December.
“Based on a recent assessment in the world market, the potential supply sources for the latest 200,000 metric tonnes of rice are India, Pakistan, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam, though other destinations too could partner,” the statement said.
Sri Lanka’s domestic rice market failed to produce the necessary volumes due to a poor harvest since 2016.
Due to a severe drought and flash floods in 2016 and 2017, the production of rice in Sri Lanka fell by 50 percent leading to the government urgently calling for tenders to import rice from foreign countries.
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