In preparation for the upcoming Ramadan, the government will begin selling rice at subsidised prices in 424 upazilas across the country starting in February, aiming to ensure that low-income families have affordable access to the staple grain at the local level.

Ramadan, the holy month of fasting, will begin on March 1 this year.

Rice will be sold through a special Open Market Sales (OMS) programme at a total of 848 centres across the country, according to a press release issued by the food ministry yesterday.

Three metric tonnes of rice will be sold per day in 401 upazilas across 61 districts, while one metric tonne will be sold per day in 23 upazilas across three hill districts.

The rice will be sold for Tk 30 per kilogramme (kg), with each person allowed to purchase a maximum of five kgs.

Additionally, under the OMS (general) programme, rice will be sold at 906 centres in Dhaka city, district municipalities, eight city corporations, and four labour-intensive districts, namely Dhaka, Narayanganj, Narsingdi, and Gazipur.

All the centres will sell 1 tonne of rice per day, while the Secretariat centre will sell 2 tonnes.

Over the past two years, real incomes have fallen drastically due to persistent inflation, pushing at least 78 lakh people into poverty, according to a study by the Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID).

This includes 38 lakh people who have become extremely poor.

Besides, another 1 crore people are at risk of slipping below the poverty line due to sustained inflationary pressures, said Md Deen Islam, research director of RAPID.

In the past year, the price of fine rice has increased by 13.14 percent, medium-grain by 13.89 percent, and coarse by 5.77 percent, according to the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.

In December 2024, inflation eased slightly to 10.89 percent from 11.38 percent the month prior.

It remained above the 10 percent threshold throughout October and November, as per the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.