Sri Lanka Customs says that weevils (Gullo) have been detected in 50,000 Kg of imported rice while issues with product information labels have been detected in another 25,000 Kg of imported rice.
Accordingly, the respective importers have been ordered to re-export the relevant rice consignments or face confiscation of defective stocks.
It was revealed that two containers of imported rice contained defective stocks, while another container had labels tampered with—new labels affixed over old ones, with the expiration date nearing.
To address the ongoing rice shortage in the country, the government authorized private importers to begin importing rice from December 4.
Since then, shipments from India have accounted for 2,300 metric tons of rice received by Sri Lanka Customs as of December 13 afternoon.
Customs reported that approximately 90% of these imports had been cleared and released by yesterday.
