784 Pabna rice mills black-listed

The government has black-listed 784 rice mills, out of 876 mills in Pabna, as they did not supply rice to the government depot, resulting in the failure of government's rice procurement drive in the district this year.

The authorities concerned have decided not to make any agreement with them in next two years, said sources of the district food controller's office.

“The government had set a target to buy 25 thousand tonnes of rice during the Boro season from May 2 to August 31. During the four months procurement drive rice millers supplied only 2.5 tonnes of rice,” said Md Abdul Kader, district controller of food.

“We repeatedly requested all the rice mill owners in the district to make agreement for supplying rice to the government depot. But owners of only 92 rice mills out of 876 have made the agreement and supplied 2.5 tonnes of rice,” he said. 

“Due to the sheer negligence of the rice mill owners, the government's rice procurement target utterly failed this year.

“The district food office has included 784 rice mills in the black list for declining to make agreement with the government for rice supply in the procurement season. And the authorities have decided not to make any agreement with them in next two years,” the official said.

Idris Ali Bishwas, president of District Rice Mill Owners Association, said, “Most of the millers did not make any agreement this year as the government has fixed Tk 34 for a kg of rice under the procurement drive while it is selling for at least Tk 48 in the market.

“Production cost of the rice has increased as paddy prices increased due to its poor supply amid massive loss of the crop in floods this year,” he added.

As the crisis began, auto rice mill owners purchased most of the paddy from the market and the marginal millers could not buy sufficient paddy from the market, local sources said.