Boro procurement drive yet to gain momentum

Naim-Ul-Karim | Published: May 30, 2008 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Procurement of Boro rice and paddy is yet to get momentum although the harvesting period ends this month, officials said Thursday.

Pius Costa, director general of the Food Directorate, said the millers under agreement should supply 491,182 tonnes of rice, but only 63,000 tonnes have reached the government go-downs.

"The farmers sold only 21,724 tonnes of paddy to us," he added.

He, however, expressed his optimism in achieving the target saying: "We could exceed procurement target of rice as its production marked a hefty growth in the country."

Farmers cultivated Boro rice on a record 4.7 million hectares of land this season. They were encouraged by higher prices in the local market following production shortfall due to damage caused by consecutive floods and a devastating cyclone last year.

Food Secretary Mollah Waheduzzman said there is time to achieve the target. "We will continue procuring rice and purchasing paddy until August 31 next," he added.

Shahidul Islam, a director of Department of Agriculture Extension, said more than 90-92 per cent of Boro crop has already been harvested and the rest is expected to be done by the end of this month.

Officials said higher prices of rice and paddy in the local market compared to those fixed by the government have led to slower procurement.

The prices of rice and paddy have shown no signs of cooling down at the growers' level, they said adding the response from millers is also poor as they anticipate a further rise in prices.

Rice traders said prices of coarse and finer varieties of rice in the country now ranged between Tk 30-Tk 32 and Tk 33-Tk 44 per kilogram.

The government has raised the procurement price of rice by 55 per cent to Tk 28 a kilogram in a bid to make the massive food drive a success. It also fixed the price of paddy at Tk 18 a kilogram, up 40 per cent over that of last season.

The government has planned to build a large buffer stock for food amid global supply crunch of rice, which pushed its prices higher in the local market.

As part of the plan, the government has set a target to procure 1.2 million tonnes of rice and purchase 0.3 million tonnes of paddy to build the buffer stock.