Govt to raise buffer stock for rice

The government plans to import another 1 lakh tonnes of rice worth Tk367.96 crore from India to raise the reserve that goes down much below the security level.

The foodgrain stocks went below the security level caused by the Covid-19 pandemic that hindered the government to procure the cereal from the domestic market.

The Food Ministry is expected to put the rice procurement proposal before the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs next week for approval, said an official.

The Indian National Federation of Farmers Procurement Processing and Retailing Co-operative India Limited (NCOF) will supply the non-basmati rice on a government-to-government deal.

To boost the foodgrain reserve, the government usually buys rice every Boro and Aman season. But in the last Boro season, it achieved only 54.49 percent of the total collection target from the farmers.

Only 62,258 tonnes of rice and 12,209 tonnes of paddy were collected until March 15 against the target of 2.06 lakh tonnes of paddy and 7.50 lakh tonnes of rice in the current Aman season.

The country’s foodgrain stocks stood at 4.83 lakh tonnes as of March 31. The figure includes 4.12 lakh tonnes of rice and 0.71 lakh tonnes of wheat, according to the Food Ministry.