Govt to buy 0.3m tonnes of Aman rice this season

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FE Report
The government has decided to buy a total of 0.3 million (3 lakh) tonnes of Aman rice during this season's procurement drive that will start within the next few days.
Out of the amount, 250,000 tonnes will be boiled rice while the rest will be atap (non-boiled). The procurement price of boiled rice has been fixed at Tk 26 per kg and atap at Tk 25.
"We will start the procurement drive this week and it will continue until February next," Food Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque told the journalists after a meeting of Food Planning and Monitoring Committee at the conference room of the Cabinet Division at Bangladesh Secretariat.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith presided over the meeting. Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury and Commerce Minister Ghulam Muhammed Quader, among others, were present.
The food minister said the cost of production of Aman rice this year is Tk 24.76 per kg. At present the country has 1.2 million tonnes of rice and 0.25 tonnes of wheat in public warehouses.
He said that last year the government had procured 0.35 million tonnes of Aman rice. And a sufficient stock of rice in public warehouses is the reason of the government's target to purchase the food grain less by 50,000 tonnes this year compared to the previous year's procurement target.
Dr Razzaque, however, said if needed government would raise the procurement target this year. He said that export of fine quality rice would continue.