The government on Wednesday decided to purchase 17.5 lakh tonnes of paddy and rice at Tk聽36 a kilogram and Tk聽49 a kilogram respectively in this boro season.
It will buy wheat at Tk聽36 a kilogram in the season.
The decision was made at a meeting of the food planning and monitoring committee at the Cabinet Division conference room with finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair.
The government also decided to start the procurement drive on April 24 to collect the paddy and rice, but the process in the northern region would begin a bit later.
In 2024, the target for the boro season was set at 17 lakh tonnes of paddy and rice, which included 5 lakh tonnes of paddy, 11 lakh tonnes of boiled rice and 1 lakh tonnes of atap rice.
The government had bought paddy at Tk聽32 a kilogram, boiled rice at Tk聽45 a kilogram and atap rice at Tk聽44 a kilogram in the previous boro season.
After Wednesday鈥檚 meeting, Salehuddin told reporters that despite challenges such as floods and excessive rainfall damaging crops, the government managed to stabilise the situation by importing fertilisers and rice.
So, the past year鈥檚 rice and paddy procurement target was successfully achieved.
He said that this year the government鈥檚 procurement target included 3 lakh tonnes of paddy and 14 lakh tonnes of boiled rice.
Food adviser Ali Imam Majumder said that the procurement would take place from April 24 to August 31.
He also said that the prices for paddy and rice were determined based on the agriculture ministry鈥檚 estimates that included production costs and profit margins.
Paddy harvesting has already started in the haor regions, with a full-scale harvesting expected to begin on the first day of Bengali new year, Pahela Baishakh, he said.
Agriculture adviser Lieutenant General (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said that the production of paddy was likely to exceed the target set for this year.