Rice stocks satisfactory, import arrangements kept for food security: Food Minister

Food Minister Afroza Khanam Rita has said import arrangements with different countries have been kept in place for the sake of food security. She said the rice supply situation in the country is currently satisfactory.

The minister said this to journalists at the conference room of the Press Information Department (PID) at the Secretariat on Sunday (8 November), after a meeting of the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee (FPMC).

State Minister for Food Md Abdul Bari, Food Secretary Abu Taher Md Masud Rana and Chief Information Officer Syed Abdal Ahmad were present at the time.

The food minister said good production in the last boro season has ensured ample rice supply in the market. The government is also maintaining the necessary stocks to ensure food security, and has agreements with different countries to import rice to deal with emergencies.

She said a large part of the country's total rice demand is met through the private sector. But if production or supply falls short for any reason, the government must be prepared to deal with it.

The minister said the government's goal is to improve farmers' conditions and ensure the country's food security, so that no one suffers for lack of food.

She said the government's aim is to ensure farmers can sell paddy at the government-fixed price. The aman season paddy procurement target is 300,000 tonnes. Even after the target is met, if paddy is available in the market, its procurement will be considered. In the boro season too, more paddy was procured than the target.

She said the government currently has 1.7 million tonnes of rice and 300,000 tonnes of wheat in stock. The government has to maintain about 1.4 million tonnes of food grains throughout the year, with a target of raising the stock to 1.5 million tonnes in emergencies.

On the procurement prices for paddy and rice in the aman season, the food minister said the prices were fixed considering farmers' production costs and the market situation. This time paddy will be procured at 35 taka per kg and parboiled rice at 49 taka per kg. As the production cost of atap rice is comparatively lower, its procurement price has also been kept lower.

On the export of aromatic rice, she said domestic demand for this rice is very high. Small quantities were exported before, but exports are currently stopped.

The food minister said a committee of three ministries will visit the areas where aromatic rice is still produced and where farmers are interested. Considering which area's weather and climate suit which crop, the agriculture ministry is also conducting a survey. If needed, farmers will be given special incentives to increase aromatic rice production.