Govt to buy Aman rice at Tk 50 per kg

The government has set a target of procuring 700,000 tonnes of rice for the upcoming Aman season, raising the price by a maximum of Tk 3 per kg compared to last year.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Food Planning and Procurement Committee on Sunday, according to bdnews24.com.

According to Food Advisor Ali Imam Majumder, the government will procure paddy rice from the Aman season from Nov 19 to Feb 28. This time, the government has decided to procure 600,000 tonnes of parboiled rice, 50,000 tonnes of Atap rice and 50,000 tonnes of rice paddy.

Parboiled rice will be procured at Tk 50 per kg, Atap at Tk 49 per kg and paddy at Tk 34 per kg. In the last Aman season, paddy was procured at Tk 33, parboiled rice at Tk 47 and Atap rice at Tk 46.

Advisor Imam said, “There will be no skimping in the procurement. The procurement will be done in stages so the farmers get a fair price. If necessary, additional quantities will be collected beyond the declared quantity. Some surplus was collected last season as well.

“We are increasing the prices slightly in consideration of farmers amid certain realities. However, the cost of production has come down slightly in the Aman season compared to the Boro season.”