Food Minister
No fertiliser crisis in Bangladesh, strict action against hoarders: Food Minister
Sending out a clear message to hoarders and rumour mongers,Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder Tuesday said that strict legal action would be initiated against anyone trying to create an artificial fertiliser crisis in Bangladesh.
“Fertiliser supplies in Bangladesh have not declined even by a single tonne over that of previous year. The number of agricultural land has decreased instead. So, there is no chance of a fertiliser crisis,” Sadhan told reporters after visiting the under-construction rice silo in Naogaon.
A panic has been created and as a result those who need one sack of fertiliser are trying to collect two, said the minister. "Even those who don’t need fertilisers are lining up to dealers to grab a sack."
Also read: Bangladesh purchases LNG, fertiliser at lower rates as prices fall in global market
"We will not spare anyone trying to create an artificial fertiliser crisis in Bangladesh by hoarding or spreading rumours. We will not let any corruption percolate into the sector," the Minister said.
Measures like jail custody, imposition of hefty fines and cancellation of dealership will be taken if necessary, he added.
Also read: Fertiliser price manipulators face legal action: Razzaque
OMS will continue till rice market is stable: Food Minister
Selling rice and flour through open market sale (OMS) program will continue until the rice market is stable, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said today (September 6, 2022).
“The government operates the program for five months – from March to April and September to November – every year and the OMS service will continue as long as the market is unstable,” he said.
The government started OMS from September 1 and under the service, people can purchase one kg of rice at Tk 30 and one kg of flour at Tk 18.
Local administration, officials of Food Department and intelligence team are monitoring the service, said the minister.
Talking about Boro procurement, the food minister said the government has procured 11.21 lakh tonnes of boiled rice while 55.20 thousand tonnes of non-boiled rice have been collected.
Also read: Offer easy loans to create entrepreneurs: Razzaque to banks
“The government has a target to procure 6 lakh tonnes of paddy but we got only 2.68 lakh tonnes,” he said.
During the current Aman season, the government will import rice after ensuring fair prices for the farmers. The government is going to procure 10.30 lakh tonnes of rice and wheat from several countries, he said.
As per agreement, the government will purchase 2.30 lakh tonnes of rice from Vietnam, two lakh tonnes from Myanmar, one lakh ton from India, and five lakh tonnes of wheat from Russia, he added.
He also hinted at more procurement of rice through the government to tackle the drought in advance.
An individual can buy five kgs of rice and flour. Besides, the TCB card holders can also avail the opportunity.
Meanwhile, the government also started the ‘food friendly programme’ from the same day under which 50 lakh people can purchase rice at Tk 15.
Transgender people will get priority in OMS Program: Food Minister
Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder has said that people from the transgender community will get preference while buying essentials through the government’s Open Market Sale program.
The Minister said this while speaking as Chief Guest at a cultural event organized by the transgender community at the Enam Medical College Hospital Auditorium in Dhaka on Friday.
Sadhan added that the Social Welfare Ministry has taken up projects to empower the transgender people and ensure their inclusion in the society.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that no one will remain homeless. To fulfill her promise, she has launched the Ashrayan project, through which the homeless people including members of the transgender community are receiving places to stay,” said the Minister.
Sadhan also talked about the many benefits that the transgender people are getting under the current government.
Read: Food Minister urges people to check food waste
“In 2019, the government recognized transgender people as members of third gender through providing them with the right to vote. Currently, the transgender people can use their identity in getting passports and many other services. This shows the emphasis the government has put on improving the living standards of the transgender community,” Sadhan added.
The event was presided over by Dr Enamur Rahman, State Minister for the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, and inaugurated by Momtaj Begum, Member of Parliament from Manikganj-2 seat.
Mohammad Abu Naser Baig, Deputy Secretary of the Education Ministry and Majharul Islam, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Savar, among others, attened the event as special guests.
Bangladesh now holds highest-ever food stock: Minister
Bangladesh’s current food stock is highest-ever in recent times, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said on Tuesday dismissing any possible food shortage in the coming days.
“In spite of the good stocks, efforts are on to increase import of rice to keep the price of the staple under control and ensure food safety,” he told reporters at Naogaon Circuit House.
During the Boro season, some 19.50 lakh metric tonnes of rice have been procured until Monday and the procurement drive will end on Wednesday. The Boro procurement target will be fulfilled by the end of this drive, he said.
The minister said there is no possibility of a shortage of any kind of food such as rice and wheat as the government has already decided to import wheat from Russia and Ukraine.
Read: No bar to import food from Russia, Ukraine: Tipu
The government has increased the number of open market sale (OMS) dealers three times for mitigating public sufferings, he said adding the number of OMS centers has been raised from 813 to 2363.
Not only that, the government is going to start open market sale (OMS) of rice from September 1 as per the directives of the prime minister, said Sadhan.
The TCB card holders can buy OMS rice showing their cards, while others can purchase rice by showing their NID cards twice a month, said the minister.
The authorities concerned will ensure that no person can purchase rice through OMS more than twice.
After the launching of OMS service and food-friendly programme, the rice price will come down at a tolerable level after a few days, he hoped.
OMS: Rice to be available at Tk 15 per kg from Sep 1
The government will start open market sale (OMS) of rice at Tk 15 per kg from September 1 for 4 crore people of 50 lakh families across the country, said Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder on Sunday.
"This programme will run simultaneously in district towns, municipalities and city areas under the Food Friendly Program of the government," he said while talking to reporters at the Secretariat.
Read: Food Minister urges people to check food waste
The Minister hoped that the price of rice in the market will come under control through this programme.
Consumers will get 30 kg of rice per month at Tk 15 per kg, he added.
He said, 'We have 2,013 dealers, each dealer will get two metric tonnes of rice per day.
The consumers can purchase 30 kgs of rice under the Food Friendly Programme at a price of Tk 15 per kg while anyone can purchase the OMS rice and one person can buy 5 kg, said the minister.
Besides, the authorities concerned will keep monitoring the programmes and a decision was taken to strengthen the monitoring system.
He also hinted of rice imports.
Replying to a question about any impact on production cost following price hike of fuel, Sadhan said “It is a world issue now and it should be better if we can keep the price of rice stable.”
The minister also blamed some unscrupulous businesspeople for the soaring price of rice.
“We have asked the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection to come to the field as five monitoring committees have been formed,” he said.
The deputy commissioners concerned have been ordered to monitor the market price and conducted drive against illegal hoarders.
Urea fertilizer price to readjusted in line with global market rate: Minister
Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque on Wednesday said that price of Urea fertilizer in the local market will be readjusted in line with rate in international market.
The hike in Urea price by Tk 6 per kilogram won’t have any impacts on food production in the country, he said.
Razzaque said these while talking to reporters before attending a workshop in Barishal city.
“The government has been emphasizing on the balanced use of Urea fertilizer for a very long time. Farmers have a tendency to use Urea excessively. The DAP fertilizer contains 18 percent of ingredients found in Urea. That’s why we’ve reduced the price of DAP fertilizer to increase its use instead of Urea,” Razzaque said.
Razzaque also said the government hopes that use of Urea will decrease due to price hike.
Read: Bangladesh is mechanizing agriculture to boost harvest: Razzaque
“Price of Urea in the global market is Tk 81 per kg. The additional price which has been fixed by the government is very nominal. After the hike, prices of Urea will be Tk 20 per kg at the dealer level and Tk 22 per kg at the farmer level, which are still very low compared to the international market,” added Razzaque.
Replying to another question, the Minister said that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is trying to reap benefit from the global crisis.
“The people of Bangladesh are conscious and realistic. They haven’t forgotten the misrule, plundering and corruption that BNP leaders committed during their tenure. No matter how much they try, people will keep supporting the Awami League (AL) as it’s the only people-centric political party of the country,” said Razzaque.
The workshop was presided over by Md Sayedul Islam, Secretary of the Agriculture Ministry.
Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah, Mayor of Barishal City Corporation (BCC), Shahjahan Kabir, Director of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and Benojir Alam, Director General (DG) of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), among others, were present at the workshop.
Food Minister urges people to check food waste
Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder on Saturday urged the people of the country to eat nutritious rice and prevent food waste.
“Rice is being wasted by cutting coarse rice to turn them into fine rice and thus rice is losing nutrition. People should be careful about preventing food waste,” he said.
The Minister said these at a views exchange meeting with officers of Central Storage Depot at Chattogram’s Halishahar.
Sadhan said that rice import by private companies has started.“Importers will bring rice that people want. No one will be allowed to import substandard rice.”
The Minister added that those traders who didn’t provide rice to government depots even after signing agreements will be punished for at least a year.
Read: There will be no food crisis: Minister
“The government will sign agreements with the rice traders once again. Doing business will become tough for those who won’t follow the agreement,” he added.
The Minister said that his ministry has won the Jatiya Shuddhachar Puroshkar due to tireless efforts of food ministry officials. He urged them to retain the reputation by working with honesty and devotion.
Food Secretary Md Ismail Hossain, Director General (DG) of Food Directorate Md Shakhawat Hossain, and other food ministry officials and leaders of different trade bodies were present at the meeting.
Russia offers to sell 2 lakh metric tons of wheat to Bangladesh: Food minister
Russia has offered to export two lakh metric tons of wheat to Bangladesh, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said told the Parliament on Thursday.
In reply to a tabled question from Awami League MP from Dhaka Shafiul Islam, the minister said that foreign ministry has approached to different wheat exporting countries for import as the prices of wheat and flour had gone up along with various food grains due to the war between Ukraine and Russia.
“Russia already has offered to export two lakh metric tons of wheat to Bangladesh. Besides, a letter has been sent to the Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi to import wheat from India at government and private levels,” the food minister said.
Also Read: With Awami League in power, no one can stop Bangladesh’ development, Hasina tells JS
Private companies to be allowed to import rice: Minister
To keep the rice market stable, the government has taken a decision to allow private firms to import rice, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said on Monday.
“A summary of the meeting with resolution will be sent to the Prime Minister for final decision,” he said while talking to reporters after a meeting of Food Planning and Containment Committee at the Secretariat.
During the meeting, discussion was held on duty-free rice import after ensuring that farmers and others concerned are not affected by the decision, he said.
Also read: Rice price coming down after anti-hoarding drive: Food Minister
However, the final decision will come from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Talking about the drives against illegal hoarding of rice, Sadhan said already people have started getting the benefits of the drives and the drives against illegal ricer hoarders will continue.
Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Md Tajul Islam, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim and State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Md Enamur Rahman were present at the virtual meeting.
Also read: Rice cannot be packaged for sale after buying those from open market: Minister
Rice price coming down after anti-hoarding drive: Food Minister
The government’s drive against illegal hoarding of rice has been successful in lowering the price of the essential item in the market, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said Sunday.
The minister said this while talking to journalists at the logo unveiling of the ‘International Nutrition Olympiad 2022’ at his ministry.
“On Tuesday evening, the drive against hoarding of paddy and rice began a day after it was discussed at a cabinet meeting. In the drive conducted across the country till Saturday, a huge amount of illegally stockpiled rice was found and actions were taken,” said the minister.
Also read: AL profiteers’ foul play behind rice price hike: BNP
While replying to a question he said, “The price is lowering but when it will come down exactly is hard to say. We are conducting drives in mills after receiving specific complaints.”
The minister said that a meeting of the Food Planning and Containment Committee, the highest committee of the government on food, would be held on Monday where other measures to control the market prices will be discussed.
Also read: Rice cannot be packaged for sale after buying those from open market: Minister