Bangladesh to import 1.5m tones of rice


FE Report | Published: August 17, 2017 04:53:35 | Updated: October 24, 2017 23:04:33


Bangladesh to import 1.5m tones of rice

The government has decided to import 1.5 million tonnes of rice and 0.5 million tonnes of wheat to boost the stock. 

The government has already struck deals with Vietnam and Cambodia to buy 0.25million tonnes of rice from each country.

Maximum rice imported from Vietnam has already reached the country.

Food Minister Qamrul Islam disclosed the decision after a meeting of the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee held at the Secretariat Wednesday.

The minister said they had a target to produce 19.1  million tonnes of rice in the country this year but it could not be achieved due to massive floods.

Asked how much rice has so far imported, Qamrul said, "Some 025 million tonnes have already entered our sea boundary. The rest will be imported by the current fiscal year," he said.

There is no scarcity of rice in the country and the prices also remain people's purchasing capacity, he claimed.

The minister said the government will provide rice at Tk 10 per kg among the poor people under the Food-friendly Programme from September which will continue for three months.

Each of 5.0 million families across the country will be able to buy at least 33 kg of rice per month, he added.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Agriculture Minister and Matia Chowdhury were present at the meeting.

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