Staff Reporter :
Despite repeated call for speeding up rice procurement, the government is yet to collect significant quantity against its target so far, raising concerns that efforts to provide food to the poor amid the Covid-19 crisis might suffer a setback for not having adequate stock.
Missing the target, the government is now planning to import rice from other countries to meet country’s demand. The Food Ministry has already sent a summary file of rice import to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for approval.
Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder on Wednesday said, “The rice procurement drive is going on, but not at the desired pace. A summary file of rice import has already been sent to the PMO for approval.”
Urging the rice mill-owners to keep markets stable, he said, “Keep rice markets stable. Supply rice to the government warehouses. If they don’t do it, government will have no way but to import rice.”
The millers will be black-listed, who will not supply rice to the warehouses at the moment, the minister warned at a video conference.
The Food Directorate (DGoF) has procured 0.34 million tonnes of the staple till July 5 and the target is 19.5 million tonnes by August 31, according to the procurement division of the DGoF.
Coarse rice was selling at Tk 42-45, medium quality at Tk 48-54 and finer variety at Tk 55-65 a kg, according to the state run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh(TCB). The current price of coarse rice is 16-18 per cent higher now than that of the last year, TCB records showed.
Meanwhile, experts said that the government’s move to import rice will discourage Aman cultivation.
“Any kind of opening of market for imported rice could discourage farmers in Aman cultivation. Rather, the government should provide all logical supports and incentives to farmers to maintain a sound production of rice in this Aman season,” said Prof Golam Hafeez Kennedy, Agri economist and a value chain expert.
Prof Abdul Hameed, Chairman of Agrarian Research Foundation, Bangladesh (ARF), said that withdrawal of import duty hardly could help the government getting rice at cheaper rates.
K M Layek Ali, Secretary of Bangladesh Auto Major Husking Mill Owners Association, said that the prices of paddy have surged notably in last one and half months as many rich farmers and seasonal traders are stockpiling paddy for more benefits.
He said government should now import rice only through government channel for the betterment of farmers.
Rice import was almost zero in the just ended financial year (FY’20) which was 0.41 million tonnes in FY’19.
Despite repeated call for speeding up rice procurement, the government is yet to collect significant quantity against its target so far, raising concerns that efforts to provide food to the poor amid the Covid-19 crisis might suffer a setback for not having adequate stock.
Missing the target, the government is now planning to import rice from other countries to meet country’s demand. The Food Ministry has already sent a summary file of rice import to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) for approval.
Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder on Wednesday said, “The rice procurement drive is going on, but not at the desired pace. A summary file of rice import has already been sent to the PMO for approval.”
Urging the rice mill-owners to keep markets stable, he said, “Keep rice markets stable. Supply rice to the government warehouses. If they don’t do it, government will have no way but to import rice.”
The millers will be black-listed, who will not supply rice to the warehouses at the moment, the minister warned at a video conference.
The Food Directorate (DGoF) has procured 0.34 million tonnes of the staple till July 5 and the target is 19.5 million tonnes by August 31, according to the procurement division of the DGoF.
Coarse rice was selling at Tk 42-45, medium quality at Tk 48-54 and finer variety at Tk 55-65 a kg, according to the state run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh(TCB). The current price of coarse rice is 16-18 per cent higher now than that of the last year, TCB records showed.
Meanwhile, experts said that the government’s move to import rice will discourage Aman cultivation.
“Any kind of opening of market for imported rice could discourage farmers in Aman cultivation. Rather, the government should provide all logical supports and incentives to farmers to maintain a sound production of rice in this Aman season,” said Prof Golam Hafeez Kennedy, Agri economist and a value chain expert.
Prof Abdul Hameed, Chairman of Agrarian Research Foundation, Bangladesh (ARF), said that withdrawal of import duty hardly could help the government getting rice at cheaper rates.
K M Layek Ali, Secretary of Bangladesh Auto Major Husking Mill Owners Association, said that the prices of paddy have surged notably in last one and half months as many rich farmers and seasonal traders are stockpiling paddy for more benefits.
He said government should now import rice only through government channel for the betterment of farmers.
Rice import was almost zero in the just ended financial year (FY’20) which was 0.41 million tonnes in FY’19.
