FE REPORT

The government is starting its special programme in August to sell rice at Tk 15 a kg to around 5.5 million poor families across Bangladesh.

This move comes as rice prices have been increasing sharply over the last five weeks. To keep the rice market stable, the government also plans to import 0.9 million tonnes of rice.

Food Adviser Ali Imam Majumder shared this information on Tuesday during a meeting of the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee (FPMC) at the Secretariat in the capital.

The meeting was presided over by Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed.

The food adviser said the food-friendly programme would run for six months this year – a month longer than 2024.

In the first phase, the programme will run for four months from August to November.

It will be paused in December and January, and resume for two months in February and March.

The food adviser also said the current food stock is satisfactory, but the government is taking early steps to ensure food security, especially considering the risk of flooding.

As part of the plan, the government will import 0.4 million tonnes of rice through international tenders.

The commerce ministry has also been asked to take steps so that private importers can bring in another 0.5 million tonnes of rice.

Meanwhile, rice prices in the local market have gone up by Tk 6.0-10 a kg in recent weeks.

Traders say this is due to the lack of imports and high import duties.

Currently, coarse rice is selling at Tk 55-56 a kg, medium rice at Tk 64-66 a kg, and finer rice at Tk 78-100 a kg in Dhaka.

Until May 26, the import duty on rice was zero. It then returned to the previous rate of 62.5 per cent.

Published Date: July 16, 2025