Sri Lanka to save Rs 100 m forex:

Raigam to set up Rs. 75 m rice flour noodles plant

By Lalin FERNANDOPULLE

The Raigam Group will invest Rs. 75m on a rice flour noodles manufacturing plant in Horana said Raigam Group Chairman and CEO, Dr. Ravi Liyanage.

He said that the project will initially provide employment to around 150 people. “We hope to provide more job opportunities with expansion,” Dr. Liyanage said. He said that work on the project has been completed. Tests on the plant are satisfactory and we hope to commence commercial operations by November this year. The capacity of the plant is 3,000 mt per annum.

“The project will help reduce wheat flour imports and provide a better price to paddy farmers. The initiative will help boost rice production in the country and encourage people to consume rice flour based products,” he said.

Sri Lanka spends a colossal amount of money on the import of wheat flour.

Wheat flour imports have risen annually giving rise to staggering expenditure. The steps taken to promote consumption of rice flour based products have not reached fruition.

Dr. Liyanage said that Sri Lanka spends Rs. 30 b per annum to import around 1,000,000 mt of wheat flour.

The Raigam plant will help save around Rs 100m a year and reduce the drain of foreign exchange.

He said that the importance of producing vermicelli (rice noodles) in Sri Lanka triggered new investments and diversification of the Kingdom of Raigam underlining value addition, substituting and competing against imported products.

Promotion of the rice industry, health benefits and maintaining consumer price levels are some of the advantages of the project.

The consumption of wheat flour has been the cause for many diseases such as diabetes and pressure, which has become a national problem.

“Raigam will buy large quantities of rice and maintain buffer stocks which will help the Government to have a fixed price for rice throughout the year,” Dr. Liyanage said.