Rice output in the country reached an all-time high of 34.708 million tonnes in the last fiscal year (FY'15), registering some 0.3 million tonnes increase over FY'14, the latest data revealed.
Rice production achieved a 0.9 per cent growth in the year compared to that of FY '14 when overall production was 34.41 million tonnes.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) provisional data, released on Wednesday, showed that in the line of success of Aman and Aus, Boro production also reached an all-time high of 19.19 million tonnes in FY '15, increasing slightly by 0.63 per cent over that of FY'14 when production was 19.07 million tonnes, the then record.
Joint Director (agriculture wing) at BBS Bidhan Baral told the FE that overall acreage has been estimated at 4.84 million hectares in FY'15 in Boro season which was 1.03 per cent higher over that of FY'14 when 4.79 million hectares came under Boro farming.
"But per hectare yield declined negligibly this year in Boro season as it was recorded at 3.987 tonnes/ha in FY'15 which was 3.99 tonnes/ha in FY'14", he said.
However, BBS data showed that rice production in Aman and Aus seasons were 13.19 million tonnes and 2.328 million tonnes respectively in FY'15, which were also records.
"A total of 11.415 million hectares of land come under rice farming in FY'15 which was 11.373 million hectares in FY '14 as per the estimation of Bangladesh Space Research & Remote Sensing Organisation (SPARSO)," Bidhan Boral said.
The data of the state-run statistics provider showed that Aman output rose by 1.28 per cent and Aus production also showed a slight rise by 0.08 per cent in FY '15 compared to those of FY '14.
The official said BBS jointly with the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) conducted rice yield survey adopting the new crop cutting design.
DAE Director General Md Hamidur Rahman said favourable weather condition and supply of quality inputs in time were the keys to the growth.
Three kinds of rice -- Boro, Aman and Aus -- grow in different seasons in Bangladesh. The seasons contributed 56 per cent, 38 per cent and 6.0 per cent to the total output, according to BBS.
Demand for rice in the country now stands at 31.0 million tonnes, Directorate General of Food data showed.
Despite the record output, private sector in the country imported a record 1.45 million tonnes of rice in FY'15, according to the ministry of food.
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