Govt extends deadline as only 7.40 lakh tonnes of rice and paddy procured against target of 19.50 lakh tonnes
ANISUR RAHMAN KHAN, Dhaka: In the wake of massive failure to achieve the ‘highly ambitious’ Boro paddy and rice procurement target, the government has extended the purchasing deadline until September 15 from August 31 and decided to import rice, if necessary.
Sources in the food ministry and the Directorate General of Food (DG Food) said the achievement fall far short of target because of lukewarm response from farmers and millers mainly for a gap between official and open market rates.
According to DG Food sources, only around 7.40 lakh tonnes of rice and paddy could be procured against the target of 19.50 lakh tonnes till August 29. The procurement began in May this year.
The government fixed the procurement rate for rice at Tk 36 per kg, while the millers said their cost including husking charge was around Tk 40/kg.
Millers also demanded increased price, but the authorities didn’t respond positively and it prompted most of them to stop supplying rice to government godowns, sources said.
As a result, the authorities failed to achieve the target in most of the paddy-growing districts including Bogura, Naogaon, Natore, Dinajpur, Panchagarh and Nilphamari.
According to ministry sources, the authorities procured only about 1.31 lakh tonnes of paddy against its target of 8 lakh tonnes directly from the farmers.
At the same time, they could buy only 5.32 lakh tonnes of boiled rice against the target of 10 lakh tones and 0.77 lakh tonnes of non-boiled rice against the target of 1.5 lakh tonnes, the sources added.
Food officials apprehend that food grains’ stock and procurement target may face a setback this year due to prolonged Covid-19 pandemic and floods.
Warning of fresh floods this month by the meteorological department is also a matter of concern for the government, they added.
Against this backdrop, the government has extended the Boro rice and paddy procurement deadline by 15 days and decided to import rice, if necessary.
High officials of the food ministry and DG Food said they set the ‘highly ambitious’ target this year to ensure fair paddy prices for farmers.
Director General of DG Food Sarwar Mahmud while talking to The Independent on Saturday said, “The government’s actual target was to keep the rice market stable and ensure that farmers get fair prices of their produce. The interest of consumers was also kept in mind.”
He further said farmers have got adequate price of Boro paddy due to the procurement drive, and that millers failed to manipulate the rice market.
The DG, however, admitted that they had failed to anticipate such a level of failure in achieving the procurement target.
Food Secretary Dr Nazmanara Khanum said their aim to set the ‘highly ambitious procurement target’ was to ensure farmers’ interest.
Regarding rice import, the secretary said, “We are observing the overall situation including production of Aman, and if Aman production and procurement targets fail due to flood we will go for rice import”.
“…We have already taken Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s nod in this regard. But, it’s not our target to import rice unless it appears to extremely necessary. We will import rice in both public and private sectors, if necessary,” she added.
