Food ministry to procure 18 lakh tons of Boro paddy, rice

The food ministry has set a target of procuring 18 lakh tons of paddy and rice in the Boro season, from farmers at a cost of Tk27 per kg of paddy and Tk40 per kg of boiled rice.

The decision was taken at a virtual meeting of the food planning committee on Thursday with Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder in the chair.

The price of Atap rice (dried in the sun) will be Tk39 per kg. The price was same for paddy and the rice in 2021, that is Tk27 and Tk40 respectively.  

The Boro season will continue from 28 April until 31 August this year.  

The food ministry said it would procure 6.50 lakh tons of paddy, 11 lakh tons of boiled rice, and 0.50 lakh tons of Atap rice.

But industry insiders said Boro production costs rose this year due to price manipulation of diesel but the government did not consider the issue in setting the price of paddy.

In the meeting, Sadhan Chandra Majumder said the price of coarse rice has not increased in local markets. Rather, there has been a declining trend for the last couple of weeks.

He said people depend more on fine rice and coarse rice is being used mostly for non-human consumption. Food habits have changed, resulting in higher prices for fine rice.      

But according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), they are now buying coarse rice at an increased cost of 4.35% compared to last year. Now it is Tk50 per kg. The price of coarse rice was high during the same period last year.    

In the meeting, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque said the government has taken inclusive measures to raise agricultural production. Production of the two new Boro varieties, BRRI-89 and BRRI-92, will be extended. The yield of these varieties will be more while the rice will also be finer. Cultivation of the hybrid rice varieties would also be increased to enhance food production.