Paddy purchase drive risks being doomed to failure

Yasir Wardad | Published: June 16, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

Paddy procurement target is unlikely to be achieved this boro season due to higher market price, officials said.
The government's food grain procurement drive showed a mixed trend as rice and wheat purchase was better, but paddy procurement was not so satisfactory due to its high prices.
The government in boro and wheat harvesting seasons fixed the target to procure 1.0 million tonnes of rice, 0.15 million tonnes of paddy and 0.15 million tonnes of wheat from March-June (wheat) and May-August (rice, paddy), according to the Directorate General of Food (DGoF).
Rice price was fixed at Tk 31 per kg, paddy at Tk 20, and wheat at Tk 27 per kg.
"Rice and wheat procurement is showing a good performance, but paddy purchase is bad," an official at the DGoF said.
He said so far nearly 88 per cent of the wheat procurement target and rice procurement over 22 per cent.
"Even the directorate is considering revising the target of wheat procurement," he said.
"But paddy procurement drive showed dismal performance this year," he said.
The official said that millers and big traders supply rice, wheat or paddy to the DGoF.
"The price of paddy is now hovering between Tk750-820 per maund in the mainstream market against the government rate of Tk 800 per maund", he said.
"It is not profitable for traders giving paddy at Tk 800 per maund rather it is much lucrative to sell the produce in rice form," he said.
"DGoF could achieve hardly 1 per cent of its target for paddy in last one and a half months this boro season" he said.
He addedd that the DGoF in the last boro season also failed to fulfill the paddy procurement target.
When asked, director at DGOF (procurement) Md Tofazzal Hossain said that the government's main aim is to make the farmers get good price.
"And the other target is to widen the public food storage for a better food security," he said.
"It is good news that paddy price is now higher, which means the farmers are getting better prices, it can help increase production next season," he said.
He expressed his optimism that rice procurement target (1.0 million tonnes) will be achieved by early August.
The total public food grain stock is now nearly 1.08 million tones, of which 0.7 million tonnes are rice are 0.3 million tonnes wheat.