Open market sale (OMS) of food grains, mainly rice will be extended up to upazila level across the country from the current week, said a senior government food official on Sunday.
"A similar distribution process of foods at cheaper price has also been introduced in union level from last week," Ahmed Hossain Khan, director-general (DG) of food department told the FE.
Months earlier the OMS was expanded to district headquarters from the cities where the programme was last introduced in 2010 when food prices turned volatile.
The government at times conducts food distribution at subsidised prices to support the poor.
Meanwhile, officials and traders assume that the price of rice in local market are likely to stay stable, if not ease in the coming months, as the food department and private food dealers have started boosting supply.
Shortage of warehouses and an expected good harvest of upcoming Aman paddy following a recent bumper Boro crop warranted relevant dealers to ease their respective stocks, they said.
However the food DG said: "The distribution is a normal part of government programme at the onset of every financial year or as warranted on certain situation."
The department of food has an emergency stock of some 1.55 million tonnes, including 250,000 tonnes of wheat, Mr. Ahmed Hossain Khan said.
In addition to the present stock, nearly 50,000 tonnes of food grains imported by the food department were either lying at store houses in Chittagong port or in the supply pipelines, port officials and traders said.
But some officials of the food department said the stocks so far reached an optimum level of the storage capacity, leaving no space for fresh consignments.
They said Bangladesh had a plan to boost the emergency stocks to some 2.5 million tonnes, but a delay in building new warehouses, had restricted the implementation of the plan as of now.
The distribution of food through OMS and fair price shops were being conducted under a plan to distribute some 570,000 tonnes of rice and 260,000 tonnes of wheat by June 2012, another official of the food department said.
Through the OMS and fair price shops some 180,000 tonnes of rice and 30,000 tonnes of wheat will be distributed by November-end, they said.
Rice mill owners also have a large stock of rice and they were also expected to release their stocks ahead of aman paddy harvest anticipating price fall, traders said.
Now rice and wheat are sold at Tk 24 and Tk 20 per kg respectively under OMS in cities.
In addition to OMS and fair price sales, the government also distributes food free of cost among ultra poor under a vulnerable group feeding programme.
Meanwhile the food department has floated a tender recently to import 50,000 tonnes of wheat in the wake of a rising trend in local market despite a price slump in world market.
The tender was part of an ongoing initiative of the food department that has a plan to import 900,000 tonnes of wheat in the fiscal year 2012.
Prices of rice were stable while flour prices hiked in the kitchen market over last week.
Prices of loose flour (Maida) grew by Tk 7.0-8.0 per kg over the past week and was sold at up to Tk 44 per kg, while the price of packed flour rising up by Tk 8.0 per kg was sold at between Tk 46 and Tk 48 per kg in the city's kitchen markets.
Prices of flour (Atta) also increased by Tk 2 per kg. Retailers charged Tk 26-31 for a kilo of unpacked item and Tk 63-64 for a two kg packet of Atta.
Fine variety of rice was sold between Tk 42 and Tk 54 depending on quality and while coarse rice was sold between Tk 32 and Tka 40 per kg.
The food production in the last crop season reached some 35 million tonnes, including about 1.0 million tonnes of wheat, against 34 million tonnes in previous crop season, food ministry officials said.
The production is enough to feed some 160 million people of the country, where however 30 per cent of the people cannot afford to buy foods, experts say.
Source: thedailystar.net
Read More on Daily Star News
No comments:
Post a Comment