Fahmina Khan of DOT
[2] Quoting Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder, the Ministry of Food yesterday said in a statement, “The government will import rice to keep the market stable,” reports The Financial Express.
[3] The minster had reiterated the government’s previous plan to import rice in case the millers refuse to supply the rice at the agreed price, despite a bumper harvest of paddy in the Boro season, reports bdnews24.com.
[4] The government decided to purchase 1.9 million tonnes of Boro rice this year. They will buy 1 million tonnes of parboiled rice at Tk 36 per kg from millers and 1.5 million tonnes of Atap rice or sundried rice at Tk 35 per kg. It plans to buy 800,000 tonnes of Boro rice directly from the farmers.
Refusing to sell the rice at a government-quoted price of Tk 36 per kg, some mill owners want a price increase, jeopardising the government’s plan to stockpile rice as part of its efforts to ensure food security during the coronavirus crisis.