Govt to procure 9.5 lakh tonnes of food grains

The government will procure a total of 9.5 tonnes of food grains from the farmers across the country in the current fiscal year to ensure fair prices to them and increase food stock.

Under the programme, three lakh tonnes of paddy, five lakh tonnes of boiled rice and 1.5 lakh tonnes of wheat will be procured.

The decision was taken at an online meeting of the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit chaired by Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder yesterday.

The government has fixed the paddy procurement price at Tk 27 per kg, boiled rice at Tk 40 per kg and wheat at Tk 28 per kg, said the minister.

The paddy procurement drive will begin on November 7 while the wheat procurement on April 1 in 2022, he added.

Last year, the government had procured two lakh tonnes of paddy at Tk 26 per kg, 6 lakh tonnes boiled rice at Tk 37 per kg and 50,000 tonnes Atap rice at Tk 36 per kg.