Government permits 30 private firms to import 83,000T of rice
Published on: March 21, 2024.
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The government has issued an official order asking the private sector to immediately import 83,000 tonnes of rice within a month. This move is aimed at controlling the rising prices of rice in the retail market throughout the country. The Ministry of Food in Dhaka released the order on Thursday.
To facilitate the import, a total of 30 rice importers have already received approval from the government. These importers will be responsible for bringing in 49,000 tonnes of boiled rice and 34,000 tonnes of non-boiled atap rice.
M Habibur Rahman Hosaini, the Additional Secretary (Procurement and Supply) of the Food Ministry, stated, “We have approved a total of 30 private sector companies to import 49,000 tonnes of boiled rice and 34,000 tonnes of non-boiled atap rice. Our aim is to control the rice price hike in the retail market.”
The order was issued to address the gap in rice availability before the upcoming boro harvest, which is expected to take around a month. The importers are required to market this rice by April 25, as stated in the official order.
In order to maintain transparency and prevent any malpractices, the importing companies are instructed to sell the rice in sacks directly to the market without any repackaging.
As of Thursday, the public sector’s food storage amounted to a total of 1,469,278 tonnes. This includes 1,199,715 tonnes of rice, 262,330 tonnes of wheat, and the remaining 10,884 tonnes of paddy.
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