20.55 lakh tonnes of rice to be procured from local sources

Amid the growing concern on food security during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government will buy 20.55 lakh tonnes of rice from local sources in the next fiscal year.

"A target has been set to procure 20.55 lakh tons of rice from local sources in the next fiscal year," Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said while placing the budget for 2021-22 fiscal year.

The government will take all possible measures to achieve the target to ensure food security.

The decision of procuring the rice came at a time when the country's food stock is lowest in the last 13 years thanks to the ongoing second wave of the pandemic.

According to a food ministry report, the government had 4.62 tonnes of food grains in its stock on April 20.

However, highlighting various achievement, Kamal said although food security was likely to be threatened due to the interruption caused by the pandemic in the production and supply system of food grains, Bangladesh did not have to face any problem thanks to the timely decision taken by the government.