Move to save forex:

Rice flour bread soon

Ramani Kangaraarachchi

Bread made out of wheat flour will be replaced soon by popularizing bread made out of rice to save foreign exchange and take the country forward, Chairman Maubima Lanka Foundation, Ariyaseela Wickramanayake told Daily News Business.

He said that a Japanese team will arrive in Sri Lanka on September 25 and demonstrate how to make better quality bread out of rice flour using new technology which could be sold at a lower price.

The long overdue event will be held at the Hotel Intercontinental in the presence of entrepreneurs and decision- makers in the country, he said.

A Sri Lankan team will be trained by the Japanese team on making bread out of rice flour. The country spends Rs.20,000 million in foreign exchange annually to import wheat and this amount can be saved while providing employment to a large number of people, he said.

However, consumers must have a commitment to get rid of the habit of using imported wheat flour and consume local rice products as Sri Lanka has enough rice.

Wickramanayake said that the people must be patriotic to avoid the disastrous results in the future as a result of importing wheat flour or else the consumers will be responsible for this situation.

He said that all Governments which ruled the country imported wheat flour under various subsidies because the consumers demanded it and now the country has to pay a huge amount of foreign exchange in arrears.

The only solution is to deviate from imported goods which can be produced locally and impose a cess on imported goods which should be higher than the prices of local products, he said.

The shifting to bread made out of rice flour will not need a huge investment and it could be implemented immediately which will bring many benefits to the country and the future generation, he said.