The government is now desperate to source rice from the global market as its domestic procurement drive has almost fallen flat.
Directorate General of Food (DGoF) has already completed the process to float another tender for importing 0.2 million tonnes of rice to build up the stock of food grain, officials said.
With this, a total of 0.3 million tonnes of rice will be imported following a failure in its procurement locally.
Food ministry officials said the ministry would not raise rice and paddy procurement prices further rather it would depend on import from the global market.
Earlier, tenders were floated in November to bring in 0.1 million tonnes of rice.
An India-based supplier-PK Agri Link Pvt Ltd-was recently awarded contract to supply 50,000 tonnes of parboiled rice at Tk 35.27 per kg (including shipment cost).
DGoF additional director Mohammad Moniruzzaman said the process has been completed and tenders will be floated within few days to import of 0.2 million tonnes of parboiled rice further. The next segments of rice will be brought in four consignments, he added. Additional secretary (procurement and supply) of the agriculture ministry Tahmidul Islam said they have yet to take any decision to raise asking rates for domestic procurement as per the demand of millers.
"If the millers don't supply rice at Tk 36-37 a kg, we will go for further cheaper import."
The prime minister has approved import of 0.3 million tonnes of rice till now. "Following the ongoing Aman harvest and the stock of 0.55 million tonnes of rice, we are thinking that there will be no problem of supply."
Mr Islam also said import duty will not be eased for the private sector before completion of Aman harvest for the sake of the farmers.
Now there are 62 per cent of total duties on rice import.
Private sector has so far brought in only 600 tonnes of rice in the current fiscal year (FY'21), according to DGoF.
DGoF was able to procure only 525 tonnes of rice in last one month against a target of 0.85 million tonnes until February 28 during this Aman harvesting season.
The drive has almost failed as both millers and farmers are reluctant to supply rice and paddy due to their existing higher prices, said insiders.
The government has fixed target to buy 50,000 tonnes of white rice (sunned rice) at Tk 36 a kg, 0.6 million tonnes of parboiled rice at Tk 37 a kg and 0.2 million tonnes of paddy at Tk 26 a kg.
But minimum price of rice in the milling hubs is now Tk 44 a kg and paddy Tk 27 a kg, according to Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM).
Coarse rice is selling at Tk 48-50 a kg in Dhaka during this harvesting season which is 30-34 per cent higher than that of last year, according to state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.
In the last Aman season, the government was able to buy an all-time high of 1.07 million tonnes of grain, of which 0.627 million tonnes were paddy and the rest were rice, according to DGoF.
The rice stock now stood at 0.55 million tonnes which was above 0.9 million tonnes in the corresponding period of last year.
Aman output target was fixed at 15.5 million tonnes on 5.89 million hectares of land this year.
Above 90 per cent of harvest has been completed so far, according to
Department of Agricultural Extension.
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