The New Nation - Internet Edition

Shamim Janangir

The Government rice procurement target is unlikely to be achieved even with extending timeframe a month as 10 per cent of the rice mill owners are yet to provide their rice to the government go-downs.

The Government has fixed the procurement target at 12 lakh tonnes of rice and three lakh tonnes of paddy this year. The four and a half months' food procurement drive scheduled on April 15 to August 31.Despite extended timeframe of a month to achieve its target, the Government has so far procured 8,67,539 tonnes of rice and paddy.

"We are collecting 7,000 tonnes of rice daily. If it continues, we will be able to procure 10 lakh tonnes of rice and paddy within extended the timeframe on September 30," a senior official of directorate of food told the New Nation.

He said that 90 percent of rice mills owners including 160 auto rice mills and 1855 other mills have contacted us to provide their rice.

"Ten percent of rice mills owners didn't contact us as they were selling their rice in high price outside the government targeted price," he added.

Earlier, the authority announced the revised rate of Tk 29.25 per kilogram from the previous rate of Tk 28 on August 10 in view of the reluctance of the traders to sell rice to the government and following representations from the rice mills owners to the Directorate of Food.

A rice mill owner of North Bengal Rice Mills Owner Association said we have incurred loss Tk 1.25 from a kilogram of rice to sell government.

"We have now sufficient stock of rice. A total of 11.52 lakh tonnes of rice out of capacity 12.75 tonnes have stocked in government go-down. So, we have slowly advanced our procurement process," another high official told the New Nation.

Pius Costa, Director General of the Directorate of Food, told the New Nation that the rice procurement process was running in full swing and at an expected level.

About 6,21,414 tonnes of rice have been collected till now from Rajshahi division which is alone slated to supply 8,02,391 tonnes of rice of the total procurement target.

The latest procurement figure of rice from the Dhaka division stands at 1,23,596 tonnes of rice out of 2,02488 tonnes of rice. Procurement of rice from the Khulna division to-date is 81,127 tonnes of rice against the target of 1,41,561 tonnes.

Besides, the procurement of rice from the Chittagong and Sylhet division are 9,325 tonnes and 2,075 tonnes.

Pius Costa, Director General of the Directorate of Food, told the New Nation that the rice procurement process was running in full swing and at an expected level.

The authorities have so far cancelled licences of 1,969 rice mills mostly in the country's northern areas for not selling rice and paddy to the government at the officially fixed rate.