US Department of Agriculture has slightly lowered its rice production forecast for Bangladesh to 3.46 crore tonnes for 2014-15 from earlier estimate of 3.48 crore tonnes due to decline in boro rice production. The USDA said the production would decline in the boro areas as farmers had been shifting to other crops due to higher production cost of rice. ‘For marketingyear 2014-15 (May to April), Post’s estimate for total rice area and production is revised down to 11.8 million hectares and 34.6 million tonnes on lower boro rice acreage as farmers reportedly have switched to more profitable crops,’ it said.
The USDA said the food ministry set a procurement price for milled and paddy boro rice at Tk 31 and Tk 20 per kilogram considering production cost for boro paddy at Tk 17.5 per kilogram.
‘However, farmers noted production costs ranged from Tk 18 to Tk 21 per kilogram. The Government of Bangladesh began procuring boro rice on May 1, 2014, which is expected to last until September 30,’ it said.
The USDA said the rice consumption in Bangladesh would increase to 3.52 crore tonnes in 2014-15 from previous year’s 3.49 crore tonnes.
The USDA Post has estimated that Bangladesh’s rice import in 2014-15 would be around 5 lakh tonnes, down by about 26 per cent from 6.7 lakh tonnes imported in 2013-2014. USDA earlier estimated that the country’s import in 2014-2015 would be only 1 lakh tonnes.
-With New Age input
