Sri Lanka, Dec. 6 -- The Ministry of Agriculture is currently holding discussions with the Ministry of Trade to stop the importation of rice to the country in order to maintain a fair price in purchasing paddy from the local farmers, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture Gunadasa Samarasinghe said.He said the local farmers have faced difficulties in selling their paddy harvest at present.

Some farmers have paddy stocks in their stores, which have been harvested two cultivation seasons ago.Meanwhile, the ministry said that discussions are currently being held with the state banks to obtain loans in order to purchase paddy from the local farmers through the Paddy Marketing Board (PMB), the Ministry of Agriculture said.According to the m...