Food Minister Shadhan Chandra Majumder on Thursday said any effort to make the market unstable will be prevented by importing rice as well as strengthening domestic procurement.
“Legal actions will be taken against anyone stocking rice illegally”, the minister said, mentioning many except farmers are doing this for making extra profit.
The minister said this while attending a virtual meeting on ‘Country’s overall all crop management’. Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque and Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi were also present at the meeting.
Decision of importing non-Basmati boiled rice through private management with a decreased 25% tax was approved at the meeting.
Abdur Razzaque said farmers already fixed fair price for their paddies so rice import to control the market won’t cause them any loss.
The agriculture minister put emphasis on importing rice with lower prices for keeping the market price stable.
Tipu Munshi said lack accurate statistics on food demand can turn excessive imports harmful for farmers while less import struggling for consumers.
Tipu said more industries should be established to reduce people’s dependency on agriculture and thus raise their buying capacity.
Source: United News of Bangladesh