The Food Planning and Monitoring Committee will fix today the purchase rate for procurement of Aman rice for the current season, food ministry officials said.
The FPMC, a cabinet-level committee headed by the Minister of Food, will also estimate the amount of Aman rice to be procured from the local markets, they said.
The purchase rate of Aman would be finalised after considering the production cost that includes the prices of all inputs, integrated pest management, labour, irrigation, land rent and interest on the capital, they said.
When asked, director general of food department Ahmed Hossain Khan told New Age that purchase rate especially depends on the market price and the production cost.
Aman purchase rate might be fixed at Tk 29-30 per kilogram of rice, he said.
If the production of aman increases, the government would increase the quantity of procurement to ensure a fair price for the farmers, he said.
According to food department, 2.75 lakh tonnes of Aman rice were procured from local market during the last crop year (2012-13) against the government target of three lakh tonnes at Tk 28 per kilogram.
Agriculture ministry last month fixed the production cost of Aman rice at Tk 25.42 per kilogram and paddy at Tk 17.02 per kilogram for the current 2013-14 fiscal year.
Production cost of Aman rice has increased by 2.32 per cent than previous year due to increase in labour cost, they said, adding that production cost of Aman rice was fixed at Tk 24.76 per kg and for paddy Tk 16.63 for per kg for last 2012-13 crop year.
According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, some 128.97 lakh tonnes of Aman were produced from 56.1 lakh hectares of land in 2012-13.
Department of agriculture extension estimated that farmers have cultivated Aman in about 58 lakh hectares of land, almost 2 lakh hectares beyond the target of 56.03 lakh hectares for the current 2013-14 crop year.
The production target has been set at 132.76 lakh tonnes, officials at the DAE field service wing said.
-With New Age input
