Home ›› 21 Jan 2023 ›› Front
The government is seeing slow progress in rice procurement during the ongoing Aman season as farmers and millers are responding poorly to the low price offered for the staple food.
In the two months up to January 17, the government has managed to collect only 29 per cent of the total rice and paddy procurement target for the season.
Stakeholders fear that authorities will not be able to meet the procurement target in the remaining one and a half months of the Aman season that will end in February.
The government has set the price of Aman paddy at Tk 28 per kilogramme and boiled rice at Tk 43 a kg for procurement this year, which is a lot lower than the market price.
As of January 18, the mill-gate price of newly harvested coarse rice was Tk 45-46 kg while coarse paddy was trading at Tk 31-33 a kg across the country, according to the miller and farmers in Rajshahi, Naogaon and Rangpur region.
According to Consumers Association of Bangladesh data, coarse rice was selling at Tk 55-56, medium rice at Tk 62-75 and fine rice at Tk 75-98 a kg in the city retail markets.
The lower price offered by the government have so far failed to attract adequate response from the millers and farmers resulting in the purchase of only 0.23 million tonnes of rice and paddy in the two months, according to the Directorate General of Food (DGoF).
The food ministry has set a target to buy a total 0.8 million tonnes of rice and paddy during the period between November 17, 2022 and February 28, 2023.
Farhad Hossain, general secretary of Naogaon Rice Mill Owners Association, said it is likely that the government will not be able to achieve the overall rice and paddy procurement target, as the prices offered are lower than the market price.
“Farmers and millers will lose a minimum of Tk 3 if they supply rice to the government,” he said.
However, millers of Rangpur and Naogaon region are supplying rice to government warehouses. 86 per cent millers in Naogaon district are contracted to supply rice to government warehouses and 50 per cent of these millers have already supplied rice, according to sources.
The food ministry has set the procurement target for Rangpur Division is to buy 0.121 million tonnes of rice from the millers and the target for Rajshahi Division is to buy more than 0.18 million tonnes of rice and paddy.
The Aman season comprises 38 per cent to the overall supply of rice. The agriculture ministry is expecting 16.3 million tonnes of rice output from 5.9 million hectares of land in the harvest period.
According to the food ministry, the public warehouses have 1.88 million tonnes of food stock now including 1.51 million tonnes of rice.
