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Sri Lanka rules out rice shortage despite crop loss over drought
CGTN

Sri Lanka has ruled out a shortage of rice until the harvest of the next cultivation season despite the impact of dry weather on the current crop, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on Sunday.

Quoting Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, the statement said that 503,000 hectares of paddy fields have been cultivated in the current season, with some of them affected by drought.

Sri Lankan farmers harvest paddy in Eheliyagoda, Sri Lanka. /CFP
Sri Lankan farmers harvest paddy in Eheliyagoda, Sri Lanka. /CFP

Sri Lankan farmers harvest paddy in Eheliyagoda, Sri Lanka. /CFP

The minister said there will not be a rice shortage in the future as a successful harvest was received in the last cultivation season.

Sri Lanka's meteorology department has forecast that the dry spell will continue until the end of September.

Rice is the staple food of Sri Lanka and is cultivated twice a year in the South Asian country.

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Source(s): Xinhua News Agency

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