Aman prices set higher

The government has set the rice procurement price for aman season at Tk 33 a kg, up 6.45 percent over last year.

A total of three lakh tonnes of rice will be procured from December 1 this year to March 15 next year, according to a decision made by the food ministry yesterday.

Last year, the government procured two lakh tonnes of aman rice at Tk 31 per kg.

The rice procurement price has been increased as the production cost went up, Food Minister Qamrul Islam told reporters after the meeting.

This year, the production cost of rice is Tk 29 per kg and that of paddy Tk 19, which were Tk 28.5 and Tk 18.5 respectively last year.

It was also decided that from next boro season the government will not procure rice from a mill that is not automated or semi-automated, Islam said. The millers were directed to make their mills automated or semi-automated by fiscal 2014-15, but most millers could not do that by the deadline, so the timeframe was extended to 2016.

The millers will not be given more time, the minister said.

The Test Relief and Food for Work programmes required about eight lakh tonnes of food grain. The food grain stock came down to eight lakh tonnes this year from more than 15 lakh tonnes last year.

The two programmes have been made money-based this year, so their need for food grain has ended.

“The food stock of eight lakh tonnes is satisfactory. The food stock last year was unnatural -- so much stock was not necessary.”

The government introduced a new programme from this year under which rice is sold at Tk 10 per kg to the poor at union levels during the lean periods of September-November and March-April.

The programme will require 7.5 lakh tonnes of rice every year, Islam said. In the current season, 4.5 lakh tonnes of rice were required, while the next season will need three lakh tonnes.

“Now we are procuring aman and in the next season we will procure boro rice. Rice will be distributed and new rice will be purchased -- this will continue.”