Govt to import 2.25m tonnes of food grains by June

The government has decided to import a total of 2.25 million tonnes of food grains within this fiscal to increase reserve and ensure food security in the country, said officials. The government has taken the decision to improve the country's food reserve situation by importing the most important food items. Thus people would not face any food crisis even during natural disasters, they said. "We'll import 1.25 million tonnes of rice and 1.0 million tonnes of wheat within this fiscal at the total cost Tk 70 billion," DG of Food Directorate Ahmad Hossain Khan said. Of the total, 1.0 million tonnes of food grains are in the pipeline, and 0.25 million tonnes are at ports for unloading. He said rice will be bought from Thailand, Pakistan and Myanmar. Besides, top quality wheat will be imported from Bulgaria, Germany, Australia and Thailand. The food directorate chief said the import of these food grains will make an impact on the prices of the essential commodities. It will also help bring those essentials under the purchasing capability of people. "There is no shortage of food grains in our stock. Currently, 1.0 million tonnes of food grains are stored in the government godowns. So there is nothing to be worried regarding the food situation at present," Mr Khan said. He said the decision to import food grains came considering the global food situation. However, economists said the move of import will not make any significant contribution to keep the prices of the daily commodities stable. "The government should focus on increasing internal productivity of food grains and ensuring their smooth supply across the country. If we can increase our production, the dependency on import will be gradually reduced," prominent economist Anu Muhammad told the FE. He also urged the government to take immediate and effective action against the unscrupulous traders who are hoarding important food items to make some windfall profits.- FE Report