It sounds good that the government has achieved a record-breaking milestone in Boro paddy and rice procurement in 2025. Every year, the government launches Boro procurement drive across the country with the aim to ensure that farmers get fair prices of the staple food grain, keep rice market stable and prevent any food crisis. This year’s record procurement of paddy and rice has suggest that the country has sufficient food stock and so, we do not need to worry about food.
The government set a target to purchase 3.50 lakh tonnes of paddy, 14 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice and 50,000 tonnes of atop rice and of the amount, it collected 376,942 tonnes of paddy, an increase of 26,942 tonnes against the last year’s target, 1,406,533 tonnes of parboiled rice, up by 6,533 tonnes and 51,307 tonnes of atap rice, which also saw an increase of 1,397 tonnes against the target. The government set the price of per kilogram of paddy at Tk 36 and per kg parboiled rice at Tk 49 this year.
To stabilise rice prices and to ensure food security, the government buys paddy and rice from farmers and suppliers. It also imports rice and wheat from different countries for several social safety programmes.
The procured food grains are distributed through food-friendly programmes, assistance for the extremely poor and food-for-work programmes, TCB relief cards, open market sales and emergency relief supplies.
It is very shocking that despite bumper Boro harvest this year, prices of rice continue to rise, badly affecting the poor people, particularly the low and fixed income group. Even large-scale import and healthy government stock cannot tame the rice price hike. People are paying Tk 5-17 more per kg rice than a year ago.
According to the General Economics Division of the Planning Commission, rice prices remain a major driver of food inflation in Bangladesh. In its August outlook released on August 17, the economics division said contribution of rice to food inflation rose from 40 percent in May from 51.55 percent in July with price hike of all three major rice varieties (fine medium and coarse). Most consumed medium and coarse varieties hit double digit inflation since December last year frustrating the people’s expectation that bumper Boro yield will start easing price pressure on the staple food grain from July.
In view of the situation, we hope that the government and all the agencies concerned must take necessary measures to keep the rice market stable taking into account the sufferings of people.
