Rice, paddy procurement prices fixed
The government yesterday set the procurement prices for rice and paddy at Tk 22 and Tk 14 a kilogram, respectively, aiming to collect 3 lakh metric tonnes of rice in the next Aman season.
The Aman procurement will start from December 7 and last till February 28 next year, Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzaque told the newsmen after an inter-ministerial meeting at his ministry conference room.
The meeting also decided in principle that the government would charge token money from those enjoying the facilities of Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme.
Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Commerce Minister Faruk Khan and officials of the ministries concerned were present in the meeting.
The meeting decided that the rice millers would have to buy 50 percent of the crop they supply to the government directly from the farmers at the fixed rate.
"We want the farmers to get fair price. This is very important for food security of the country," said Razzaque.
Briefing on the decision, Razzaque said the price was fixed considering the production cost of the farmers and the current market price.
He said previous experiences suggest that though the government had fixed reasonable prices for rice, the farmers did not get the benefit rather the middlemen ate up the farmers' profit. This is what prompted the government to introduce a new rule in food procurement.
"For example, if a miller supplies 1,000 metric tonnes of rice (equivalent to 1,500 MT of paddy) to the government, he has to buy 750 MT of paddy directly from the farmers at Tk 14 a kg to supply 500 MT of rice, Razzaque said.
"Of the VGF cardholders, 25 percent who are extremely poor will receive rice totally free of cost. However, a survey will be conducted before introducing the new system," he said.
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