The government has decided to collect one million tonnes of Boro rice crop this year, says Food Minister Md Qamrul Islam.
Boro paddy will be procured at Tk 26 per kg while rice at Tk 38 during this season.
Speaking to the media on Sunday after a meeting of the inter-ministry Food Planning and Monitoring Unit, the minister said that the procurement will start on May 2 and end on Aug 31.
The government will collect 800,000 tonnes of parboiled rice, 100,000 metric tonnes of white rice while another 150,000 metric tonnes Boro paddies will be procured, which will yield 100,000 tonnes of rice, said Qamrul.
Sunday’s meeting was informed that the production of a kg of Boro rice this year stands at Tk 36 and that the Boro season’s output is expected to be at 19 million tonnes.
“The government would buy parboiled rice at Tk 38 per kg. White rice will be bought at Tk 37 per kg and paddy at Tk 26 per kg.”
Last year the government bought 700,000 tonnes of rice paddies at Tk 24 per kg and 800,000 tonnes of rice at Tk 34 per kg.
According to Qamrul, the government’s reserve of rice now stands at nearly 1.3 million tonnes, the highest in the last 20 years.
Replying to a query on high rice prices despite the supply, he said that the market was now stable, before adding that the government not only considers the consumers’ interest, but also that of the farmers.