PHOTO: SHEIKH NASIR

FROM PAGE B1

On Wednesday (April 22), the government said it has kept the Boro paddy procurement price unchanged this season, even though farmers say their cultivation costs have risen.

The food ministry will buy 5 lakh tonnes of paddy -- a small fraction of the targeted production -- at Tk 36 per kg during the current season.

“Government procurement will be limited to a small quantity, and it will not significantly impact the market or alleviate the current oversupply situation,” said Chitta Majumder, managing director of the Majumder Group of Industries, a leading rice miller and importer.

Majumder said his business typically purchases stock once a year in bulk after clearing previous seasons’ stock. However, this year he was unable to sell the existing stock before the new season began, resulting in accumulated inventory and stalled sales.

He currently has in stock 21,000 tonnes of paddy and around 10,000 tonnes of rice. Due to the low demand, he has to resort to selling off his stock at a loss of roughly Tk 10 to Tk 12 per kilogram of paddy and about Tk 10 per kilogram of rice.

SUFFICIENT STOCK AND IMPORTS

As of 22 April 2025, the country’s total stock of paddy and rice stood at 8,85,666 tonnes, including 666 tonnes of paddy and 885,000 tonnes of rice.

By 22 April 2026, total stock rose to 1,364,649 tonnes, with 67 tonnes of paddy and the rest rice, indicating a substantial increase in overall supply, according to the food ministry data.

Meanwhile, rice imports totalled 11.41 lakh tonnes between 1 July and 21 April of FY2025-26, compared to 14.36 lakh tonnes imported during the full FY2024-25 by both public and private sectors combined, the data showed.

Abdul Bayes, former vice-chancellor and economics professor at Jahangirnagar University, said fresh paddy prices are low at the start of the season due to high supply and weak demand.

Current public and private stocks are significantly higher than last year, contributing to lower prices.

He emphasised that the key issue is whether farmers are able to recover their production costs, as rising input expenses have squeezed margins.

He added that the government’s lack of urgency in procurement reflected in a minimal increase in procurement price may be linked to high stock levels, but warned that such stocks may not be sufficient in the face of potential future uncertainties.

The former professor also suggested that the government should have increased procurement prices more substantially to ensure fair returns for farmers and to avoid potential supply and price pressures later.