Rats damage crops worth Tk7.23b in FY 2014-2015

Crops worth at least Tk7.23 billion have been damaged by rats in the current fiscal year, Agricultural Minister Matia Chowdhury told the Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) on Sunday. The minister said, in the 2014-2015 FY around 273,744 tonnes of paddy have been damaged by rats, which is estimated to be worth Tk4.39 billion in the market. Around 62,764 tonnes of rice with a market price of Tk2 billion, and 29,660 tonnes of wheat with an estimated market price of Tk830 million were damaged by the rats in the current fiscal. According to the Agriculture Ministry, around 3 million tonnes of rice and paddy and around 1.2 million tonnes of wheat are produced in a year. The damaged crops amounts to 1 per cent of the total crops produced in a year, according to bdnews24.com.