The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) recently announced the new maximum retail prices (MRP) for three varieties of rice, both domestically produced and imported. The price of Nadu rice has been set at LKT 72 (USD 0.47) per kg, the maximum price of Samba rice (excluding Keeri Samba and Suduru Samba) at LKR 80 (USD 0.53) and of raw rice at LKR 70 (USD 0.46). In January, retail prices of both Nadu red and Nadu white rice were around LKR 95 (USD 0.62) per kg, price of Samba rice was LKR 98 (USD 0.64), while prices of white raw rice and red raw rice averaged LKR 93 (USD 0.61) per kg and LKR 90 (USD 0.59) per kg, respectively. The Authority takes legal action against vendors who do not sell rice at the set prices. The measure, together with the recent reduction of taxes on imported rice (FPMA Food Policies), aims to reduce market prices, which have increased sharply in recent months and reached record highs in January due to reduced domestic availabilities.