Govt aims for 14 lakh tonnes of rice, 5 lakh tonnes of paddy from Boro season

The government has planned to collect 14 lakh tonnes of rice and 5 lakh tonnes of paddy from the 2025 Boro season. Prices for rice and paddy are expected to be higher compared to the previous season, according to sources from food and agriculture ministries.

A meeting of the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee will be held today at the Cabinet Division to finalise the collection targets and pricing decisions. The meeting will be chaired by Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed.

The government collects rice and wheat from both domestic and international sources for various programmes, including the food-friendly programme, food assistance for the ultra-poor, food-for-work programmes, open market sales (OMS), and sales through TCB family cards.

These initiatives aim to ensure the steady supply of rations to different agencies, while also maintaining stable market prices and securing necessary stockpiles for food security.

During the Boro season, the government collects a substantial amount of rice and paddy from local sources. For the 2024 Boro season, the collection target was 11 lakh tonnes of boiled rice, 1 lakh tonnes of Atap rice, and 5 lakh tonnes of paddy. Last year, the government purchased Boro paddy at Tk32 per kg, boiled rice at Tk45 per kg, and Atap rice at Tk44 per kg.

For the 2025 Aman season, the government purchased paddy at Tk33 per kg, boiled rice at Tk47 per kg, and Atap rice at Tk46 per kg. The government collected Aman season rice and paddy from 17 November 2024 to 28 February 2025.

However, due to procurement prices being lower than market prices, the Directorate General of Food was unable to meet the targeted collection of paddy and rice during the Aman season, prompting the government to import rice.

In the 2024-25 fiscal year, the government aims to import 8 lakh tonnes of rice. According to the food ministry's website, as of 7 April 2025, the Directorate General of Food has completed the import process for 5.18 lakh tonnes of rice, most of which has already arrived in the country. The process for importing 4.08 lakh tonnes of wheat has also been completed.

According to the food ministry's data, the Directorate General of Food has collected 435,260 tonnes of boiled rice from the Aman season, falling short of the target of 5.5 lakh tonnes. Additionally, 84,061 tonnes of Atap rice were collected, while the target was 1 lakh tonnes. The Directorate General of Food only collected 26,714 tonnes of paddy, well below the target of 3.5 lakh tonnes.

Food Secretary Mohammad Masudul Hasan told The Business Standard that the collection of rice and paddy from major rice-producing areas was affected by four consecutive floods. Regions like Sylhet, Sunamganj, Kishoreganj, the Haor region, and parts of Chandpur and Lakshmipur were unable to meet the collection targets.

He also noted that collecting paddy is challenging due to the lack of required moisture content in the paddy marketed by farmers.

The price of rice and paddy collected by the government is based on the cost of production, which is determined by the agriculture ministry.

Agriculture Secretary Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian told TBS that the agriculture ministry has carefully verified all expenses to determine the cost of paddy and rice production. The government will set the procurement price to ensure fair compensation for farmers while preventing additional pressure on consumers.

A senior official from the agriculture ministry added that the production cost for Boro rice is higher than that for Aman rice. As a result, the government will set the procurement price slightly higher during the Boro season. Boro paddy is expected to start arriving in the market by the end of April and continue until the end of June.

According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), on 8 March, coarse rice of China and Swarna varieties was sold in Dhaka's retail markets for Tk50-55 per kg, while medium-quality rice was priced between Tk58-65 per kg.

Retailers have reported that a 50kg sack of coarse rice is being sold wholesale for Tk2,350 to Tk2,500, while a sack of medium-quality rice is priced between Tk2,950 and Tk3,150.