Govt to buy Boro rice at Tk 28 a kg

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The government yesterday fixed the procurement price for Boro rice at Tk 28 a kilogramme (kg) in an effort to maintain a safe level of grain reserve in the wake of globally skyrocketing prices of the country’s staple.

A meeting of the food monitoring committee, held at the chief adviser’s office and chaired by Food and Disaster Management Adviser AMM Shawkat Ali, also fixed the procurement price for boro paddy at Tk 18 a kg.

The government fixed a target of procuring 12 to 15 lakh metric tons of rice and paddy from the domestic market.

Food Secretary Mollah Waheeduzzaman told The Daily Star last night, “We will start procuring rice tomorrow.”

Earlier, the government’s target of procuring food grains was not met, as the prices were set at lower than market rates. The procurement target was set at a total of 13 lakh metric tons during the last Boro and Aman seasons, but the government could procure only a total of 2.19 lakh tonnes.

The government earlier set the procurement price for wheat at Tk 26 a kg during the immediate past rabi crop season, but failed to buy the grain, as the market price was around Tk 30 a kg.

Against the backdrop of volatility on the food market and the government’s failure to buy food grains, it recently consulted its deputy commissioners, rice millers, and traders in an effort to find the right procurement price for boro, so it may see some success in its procurement drive.

The invited delegates suggested the government to increase the boro procurement price from Tk 26 to Tk 28 a kg.

Food ministry officials said the government set a target of procuring 30 lakh tonnes of food grains in the next fiscal year for building a safe food bank, with a plan to procure the major portion of the target this boro season, when a bumper production of 1.75 crore metric tons is expected.

It also wants to have a constant reserve of 10 lakh to 15 lakh tonnes of food grains, the current level of which is below 5 lakh tonnes.

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