Govt to boost rice purchase

The government plans to increase the procurement volume of rice during the current Boro season in a bid to raise selling prices.

Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said the government is ready to go for increased rice buying from farmers to boost the prices depressed since mid-May due to cheaper imports from India.

She did not specify the amount of rice the government would buy from the growers and millers.

Her comments came at the launch of a book titled “Feed the Future: Bangladesh in Focus”, published jointly by the Forum for Information Dissemination on Agriculture and agricultural chemicals company Syngenta.

Earlier in March, the government had set a target of one million tonnes of Boro at Tk 32 a kilogram, but cheaper imports at Tk 30 a kilogram somewhat dampened the local rice market during the peak harvesting season.

Amid repeated calls from farm stakeholders, the government has recently imposed tariffs on rice imports, which many found too late a move to offset the price dampening.

Chowdhury also acknowledged that it would have been better had the government imposed at least three weeks earlier than it had.

The prices of rice are picking up gradually in recent weeks and Boro farmers would receive better prices for the produce now, she added.

The government fixed the Boro procurement rate at Tk 32 per kilogram, which is Tk 1 more than last year.

The decision came at the Food Planning Committee's meeting yesterday, which was attended by Chowdhury and Food Minister Qamrul Islam.

It also fixed the price of Boro paddy at Tk 22, up from last year's price of Tk 20.

The government plans to procure 100,000 tonnes of paddy from the domestic market.

The government's procurement for the national reserve started on May 1 and will continue until August 31.

Also at the meeting, the wheat procurement rate was fixed at Tk 28, up Tk 1 from last year. This year, the government aims to procure 150,000 tonnes of wheat.

The government-level procurement activities of wheat will start on April 1 and will continue until June 30.