The Indian government has agreed to provide stocks of non-basmati rice required Sri Lanka despite the existing ban on domestic rice exports, following a request by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

According to Ministry of Trade Marketing and Consumer affairs, the Ministry will take all possible measures to import the required stocks before Sinhala and Tamil New Year.

The government removed custom duty on March 27 on rice imports to meet the domestic demand for rice in the wake of unprecedented floods in the eastern and southern parts of the country.