Govt to buy paddy, rice at last year's prices despite rising production costs
Under the plan, the government will buy 5 lakh tonnes of paddy at Tk36 per kg and 12 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice at Tk49 per kg, according to the briefing.
The government has decided to procure paddy, parboiled rice, atap rice and wheat at the same prices as last year during the boro season, said Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed today (22 April).
The information was disclosed at a briefing following the meeting of the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee held at the Information Department conference room in the Secretariat.
The briefing was given by the committee chairman and Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, who was joined by State Minister for Food Md Abdul Bari.
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Under the plan, the government will buy 5 lakh tonnes of paddy at Tk36 per kg and 12 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice at Tk49 per kg, according to the briefing.
In addition, 1 lakh tonnes of atap rice will be purchased at Tk48 per kg and 50,000 tonnes of wheat at Tk36 per kg.
Altogether, the procurement target stands at 18 lakh tonnes of rice and paddy and 50,000 tonnes of wheat for the season.
Officials said procurement of paddy and wheat will begin on 3 May, while rice procurement will start on 15 May and continue until 31 August.
In the same briefing, the home minister said there is sufficient rice stock in the country, with around 17-18 lakh tonnes currently stored in government warehouses. He also said total wheat demand is 80 lakh tonnes, of which 70 to 72 lakh tonnes are produced locally, while the remaining 8 lakh tonnes are imported through G2G arrangements.
