ZCZC
BSS-46
MINISTER-RICE-IMPORT
Rice market is stable now: Razzaque
DHAKA, Jan 26, 2021 (BSS) – Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque
today said the rice market is now stable as the food grain is being
imported.
“There were high prices of rice, onion and potato this year. The
government has taken various steps to keep the market stable. To cut
the price of rice, its import duty has been reduced to 25 percent
resulting a stable rice market,” he said.
Razzaque was speaking at a national workshop on ‘presentation of
research report on revealing reasons for price hike of rice, potato
and onion in Bangladesh’ at Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council
(BARC) auditorium in the capital.
The inter-institutional research report-2020 on the availability and
price volatility of rice, potato and onion was presented at the
workshop organised by BARC, a ministry press release said.
Agriculture Secretary Md Mesbahul Islam, Vice-Chancellor of the
University of Global Village (UGV) and Study Team Coordinator Prof
Jahangir Alam and BARC Member Director Mosharraf Uddin Mollah, among
others, spoke at the workshop with BARC Executive Chairman Sheikh
Mohammad Bakhtiar in the chair.
Speaking as the chief guest, Razzaque said Aus and Amad rice
production have been declined due to continuous floods.
On the other hand, he said, since the government did not able to
achieve the target of rice procurement and there was insufficient
storage in public godowns, the mill owners and wholesalers took
advantage to this end.
Noting that now rice market is stable, the agriculture minister
said, the government has taken steps to procure rice during the next
boro season to fulfill the food storage aiming to prevent the future
price hike of rice.
“The government food stocks will be increased by procuring rice so
that the market could remain under its control,” he said.
Razzaque said if production of the food grains could not be
increased, market will not remain stable.
Various measures have been taken to further increase the production
of rice, potato and onion, he said, stressing the need for the
cultivation of Bri-6 and Bina-18 varieties of paddy aiming to increase
rice production in the country.
“And a roadmap has been formulated to achieve self-sufficiency in
onion,” the agriculture minister said.
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