Food Secretary Dr Mosammat Nazmanara Khanum said that the price of rice will not increase in the coming Ramadan.
She made the remarks in response to questions from reporters at her office in the Secretariat on Wednesday.
Experts fear that the prices of rice and vegetables will cross all-time records in the coming Ramadan.
When asked for her opinion on the matter, the food secretary said, "On the occasion of the upcoming Ramadan, I can assure you that the price of rice will not go up, because the food-friendly program will start from March. About 5 million families will get 30 kgs of rice. After that the price of rice will not increase during the Ramadan period.
"Even then, if we see a rise in prices, we will increase Open Market Sale (OMS) further. The government is considerate about food. We want to give a fair price to the farmers. We are happy that farmers are getting good prices. If necessary, the government will import fine rice in the public interest or in the interest of the consumers,” she said.
"Fine rice will be imported for the convenience of the consumers, but I am not considering to import now. However, some groups and even the US-based food agency state that our production is good, but we still have to import. Hence we are not considering import and to cater to such words because there is surplus in our production,” she said.
It can be proved that the country is self-sufficient if the situation can be kept at ease without importing. There is currently more than 2 million tonnes of food in stock, she added.
