Staff Correspondent: The Cabinet Committee on Purchase has approved the import of 2.5 lakh metric tonnes of rice from Singapore and India. It will cost Tk 467 crore 2 lakh 91 thousand 200 .

The proposal was approved at an online meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Public Prurchase on Wednesday (January 7th),chaired by Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, who is in Singapore at present.

After the meeting, Additional Secretary to the Cabinet Abu Saleh Mostafa Kamal told reporters at a virtual press conference that approval had been given to purchase 50,000 metric tonnes of non-basmati cooked rice in the 2020-21 fiscal year through international quotations. In India, the rice will be purchased from M / s ETC Agro Processing Pvt. Ltd. at a cost of Tk. 181.97 crore.

In addition, the Department of Food under the Ministry of Food has approved the purchase of 50,000 metric tons of Ataap rice in the fiscal year 2020-21 through international quotations. The rice will be purchased from Singapore's M / S ETC Agrocrop International PTE Limited for Tk 171 crore 97 lakh 44 thousand.

Besides, the Food Department under the Ministry of Food has approved the purchase of 1 lakh metric tonnes of non-basmati boiled rice and 50,000 metric tonnes of Ataap rice from National Agriculture Co-operative Marketing of India Limited on a G2G basis at a cost of Tk 521 crore 94 lakh 40 thousand.

Recently Bangladesh is battling to increase reserves as rice production was hampered due to flood and fungal attack. Government is trying to controll the price of the staple which is skyrocketing., by importing from India Cambodia, Thailand, Pakistan and Vietnam through local traders.