Govt to procure 14 lakh tonnes of Boro rice at Tk49 per kg

The government will procure 14 lakh tonnes of Boro rice at Tk49 per kg this year, marking an increase of Tk4 from the previous year.

The government will also procure 3.5 lakh tonnes of Boro paddy at Tk36 per kg this year.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee at the Secretariat today (9 April) with Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair.

The committee decided to procure wheat at Tk 36, said Food Adviser Ali Imam Majumdar.

The procurement will begin from 24 April and continue till 31 August.

The price of paddy and rice has been fixed by adding profit to the production cost given by the Ministry of Agriculture, he said.

Harvesting of paddy has started in the haor areas and it will start in full swing from Pahela Baishakh. The agriculture adviser will go there to inaugurate the procurement process on 24 April, he added.

Last year, the government set a target to procure five lakh tonnes of Boro paddy, 11 lakh tonnes of boiled rice and one lakh tonnes of Atap rice at Tk32, Tk45 and Tk44, respectively.

Despite the continuous floods and heavy rains, the government has maintained a stable situation by importing fertiliser and rice and the target of paddy and rice procurement has been fulfilled, said Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed.

Agriculture Adviser Lieutenant General (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said they hope that the production this year will be higher than the target that has been set.

According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), on 9 March, coarse rice was sold at a price of Tk50 to Tk55 per kg in retail markets in Dhaka city, while medium quality was sold at a price of Tk58 to Tk65 per kg.

Retailers said at the wholesale level, coarse rice was being sold at a price of Tk2,350 to Tk2,500 per bag (50 kg), while medium quality rice was being sold at a price of Tk2,950 to Tk3,150 per bag.