Bangladesh to raise Aman rice procurement price by Tk 3 per kg

Boiled rice will be procured at Tk 47, Atap rice at Tk 46 and paddy at Tk 33 per kg

The government has set a target of procuring 1 million tonnes of paddy and rice in the current Aman season, raising the price by Tk 3 per kg compared to last year.

The decision was taken at a Food Planning and Monitoring Unit meeting at the Secretariat on Wednesday.

After the meeting, Food Secretary Md Masudul Hasan said that Aman paddy and rice would be collected from Nov 17 to Feb 28.

The timeline for the Atap rice collection is Nov 17-Mar 10.

Parboiled rice will be procured at Tk 47 per kg, Atap rice at Tk 46, and paddy at Tk 33 per kg this year. The government is aiming to procure 330,000 tonnes of paddy, 550,000 tonnes of rice, and 100,000 tonnes of Atap rice.

The secretary said the procurement price of the crop has been increased by Tk 3 per kg, considering the increase in production costs by up to Tk 2.5 per kg from last year.

In addition, a target has been set to import 500,000 tonnes of paddy through government channels. Of this, 300,000 tonnes will be procured under a G2G initiative and 200,000 tonnes through open tender.

In the last Aman season, the government planned to purchase 700,000 tonnes of rice and paddy, including 200,000 tonnes of paddy and 500,000 tonnes of rice.

Prices were set at Tk 44 per kg for 400,000 tonnes of parboiled rice, Tk 43 per kg for 100,000 tonnes of Atap rice, and Tk 43 per kg and Tk 30 per kg for 200,000 tonnes of paddy.

After the meeting, Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed said: "This time we have increased the target a little more than necessary so that there is no shortfall in collection."