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Move to save Rs. 17 billion annually:

CAA popularises rice flour products

Wheat flour is imported from the US and Brazil to produce bread and other food items. What we import is the remnants which does not have any nutritional value. We spend around Rs. 17 billion annually to import 800,000 mt of wheat. This is an enormous amount when rice flour could be produced locally, Chairman Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA), Sarath Wijesinghe said.

The second phase of popularising rice flour was launched at the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL) on Tuesday. The first phase was launched at the Cherry Bakery in Malabe.

The CAA will act as a catalyst in popularising rice flour as a consumer item with nutritional value among Sri Lankans. We need to popularise bread and other rice products since it is nourishing and home grown.

By producing rice flour based products we are encouraging our farmers to grow more paddy and the country can save a huge amount of foreign exchange. We have been importing wheat flour from European countries since colonial times at exorbitant prices. In doing so we are helping the farmers in other countries and not ours, Wijesinghe said.

We must change our bread culture to rice and value our home grown products.Rice is the stable food for Asians unlike bread. We are self sufficient in rice and there is no necessity to import wheat when it is cheaper and much more nutritional. It is easy to grow paddy and even prepare bread and bakery products from rice flour.

Bakers have to mix yeast and other foreign ingredients which are not good for health. The side effects of rice flour are minimal. Consumption of rice flour based products is economical and a big saving on our import bill, he said.

Wijesinghe said we are trying to convince people on the value of consuming rice flour based products on health grounds. The concept will have value with the launch of the 'Rice Day' on the first of every month commencing this month.

Minister of Science and Technology Prof. Tissa Witharana said consumption of wheat flour is hazardous to health since it does not contain vitamins and other vital nutritional such as rice flour. By consuming rice and rice flour based products we could save money spent on importing wheat flour, Prof. Witharana said.

ANCL Chairman, Anil Obeysekere said the consumption of rice flour products has twin benefits. While it has a huge saving on foreign exchange it helps our farmers to sustain their livelihood. Sri Lanka spends an enormous amount annually to import wheat flour.

 

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