FE Report
Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam said Thursday if necessary, the interim government would go for open market operation in order to keep the price of food grains within the tolerable limits.
He said this while announcing the national budget for fiscal 2007-08.
The finance adviser also said necessary steps have already been taken to augment the official food management system with a view to maintaining adequate buffer stock and reach food grains to the distressed populace.
To meet the overall food deficit, the government has planned to import 800,000 tonnes of food grains alongside the imports by private sector, he said.
In the next fiscal year, the VGF (vulnerable group feeding) programme will be implemented in an extended fashion to enhance the capacity of the marginalised section of the society whose purchasing power has been eroded due to price increase, he mentioned.
He, however, proposed to allocate 400,000 tonnes of rice for 5.0 million card holders across the country to provide a subsistence coverage of eight months.
Alongside this allocation, about 600,000 tonnes of food grains will also be distributed through TR (Test Relief), GR (Gratuity Relief), FWP (Food for Works Programme) and VGD (Vulnerable Group Development) programmes, he said.
The adviser admitted that the food grains production in the country and also across the world had not reached the expected level in the current year whereas the demand had increased.
As a result, the price of food grains has increased relatively both at home and abroad, he observed.
Govt to go for open market operation to stabilise prices
FE Team | Published: June 08, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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