The government will pay higher prices to buy paddy and rice during the current Aman season, the harvest of which has already begun in rural areas.

Amid rice prices edging up in local markets and concerns over the paddy output, this decision was made by the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee (FPMC) yesterday.

Farmers will receive Tk 33 per kilogramme for paddy if they supply the grain to public warehouses following specific quality standards. This price is 10 percent higher than what they received for selling their produce to the food directorate during the previous Aman procurement.

Besides, the government will purchase parboiled rice, the most widely consumed grain in Bangladesh, from millers at a 7 percent higher rate of Tk 47 per kilogramme.

This decision comes at a time when staple food prices have been rising, exceeding last year’s levels. There is also concern about reduced Aman yields due to decreased cultivation areas and crop damage caused by repeated flooding in the eastern region.

Yesterday, the FPMC, an inter-ministerial committee responsible for monitoring the country’s overall food situation and advising on food security policies, decided to purchase 3.5 lakh tonnes of paddy this season.

Finance and Commerce Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed chaired the meeting at the secretariat.

This target is 75 percent higher than the original purchase of 2 lakh tonnes during the Aman harvest in 2023.

However, the government has reduced its parboiled rice purchase plan for this year to 5.5 lakh tonnes, a 14 percent decrease from the 6.4 lakh tonnes bought by the Directorate General of Food during the previous Aman season.

Besides, the food ministry will purchase 1 lakh tonnes of sunned rice this year at Tk 45 per kilogramme.

The procurement process for the current Aman harvest will begin on November 17 and continue until mid-March, according to a statement from the food ministry.

The food ministry purchased 21.6 lakh tonnes of rice domestically in FY24, an 11.3 percent increase from the previous year.

During the current FY25, the government has a food budget to procure 19.33 lakh tonnes from domestically grown food grains out of its total procurement plan of 29.83 lakh tonnes, according to the finance ministry.

The government has allocated Tk 16,678 crore to buy rice and wheat from the domestic and international markets to carry out various social safety net schemes.

The allocation to buy food grains is 6 percent higher from the revised budget of the previous year.

Published Date: November 7, 2024