OMS of rice may resume in August

The government is considering resuming its open market sale (OMS) of rice after mid-August when the Boro procurement drive of the government would be over, Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam said yesterday.
Meanwhile, the government decided to sell low-priced rice among the low-income group in labour-intensive regions of the country, reports UNB, quoting an inter-ministerial meeting at commerce ministry yesterday.
These decisions came at a time when prices of rice, lentil and flour are on the rise across the country. Price of a 50-kilogram sack of best quality pulse increased by Tk 100, a 74-kg sack of flour by Tk 50 to Tk 100 while a maund of rice rose by Tk 10 in the capital during the past three days.
Following a meeting with Asian Development Bank officials at planning ministry, the finance adviser told reporters, "Boro procurement will be completed by mid-August. The food ministry will then decide whether to sell rice under the OMS."
"Procurement and the OMS cannot be done at the same time," he said adding that the OMS programme does not impact the prices on the market and it is designed only to support people in the low-income group.
Asked whether the announcement of budget triggered the recent spate of price increase, Mirza Aziz said there is nothing in the budget that may trigger the price hike.
He also said there is no possibility of food shortage as the country saw a bumper harvest of rice this year unless a major natural disaster strikes the country.
The government, in the wake of unprecedented hike in the prices of essentials, launched the OMS programmes on January 9 this year and it stopped the sale on May 10.
UNB reports: An inter-ministerial monitoring committee during a meeting at commerce ministry yesterday decided to sell rice at a cheaper rate among the low-income group in the country's labour-intensive regions
The meeting decided to request food department to start the sale of rice among the lower-income group in Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna regions.
The meeting also decided to take appropriate steps for importing lentil, edible oil, onion and sugar through TCB in a bid to keeping prices of essentials at a tolerable level during the Ramadan.
Representatives from commerce, home, agriculture, food and disaster management ministries and a number of other departments including local government department, TCB, office of the chief adviser, Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), DGFI, NSI, Bangladesh Statistical Bureau, agricultural extension department, agriculture marketing department attended the meeting.