Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said 16 lakh tonnes of rice production gets reduced annually by polishing processed rice from the 4 crore tonnes of rice produced in the country every year.

He said this replying to questions from reporters after inaugurating the Balancing, Modernization, Expansion and Replacement (BMRE) work completed at the century-old silo in Brahmanbaria's Ashuganj upazila this noon, reports our Brahmanbaria correspondent.

The food minister said, "Four crore tonnes of rice is produced in the country every year. The rice produced from this paddy is polished five times to make it shiny. Due to this, 4 to 5 percent of rice is reduced in weight. As a result, the annual rice production is reduced by 16 lakh tonnes. If the polishing can be done twice, the nutritional value of rice will increase, as well as the losses will be reduced."

"By adopting this approach, the cost of producing rice will be reduced and the consumers will get rice at a lower price," he added.

From now sacks of rice should include the variety, weight, date of production and the price at the mill gate, so that retailers cannot charge more claiming that they bought it at a higher price, the minister said.