Food Adviser Ali Imam Majumdar said, ‘We will not depend on any single country for food imports. Since we have a food shortage, we will fill that shortage by importing from other countries. That is what we are trying to do.’
He said these things in response to a question from journalists after inspecting the construction work of a steel silo under construction on the banks of the Meghna in Ashuganj, Brahmanbaria on Sunday (December 8) afternoon.
The food adviser said, ‘The ministry is giving more importance to rice procurement. Currently, there are 22 lakh tons of food in stock. The government is working to increase it to 30 lakh tons.’
He said, ‘We have initially planned to buy food grains from the international market. First, it will be imported from India. Secondly, it will be done through direct communication through government-to-government. Of this, one hundred thousand tons of rice will be imported from Myanmar. We will also bring rice from Vietnam. Besides, the government will directly contact the government of Thailand and Pakistan to import rice from different countries.
Ali Imam Majumdar said, "Buying rice from India will be comparatively cheaper. For this, approval has been given to import 150,000 tons of rice. We hope that rice will arrive soon." Stating that when there is good rice production in the country, the amount of import is less, he said, "Sometimes we have to import to fill the deficit. This time, agricultural land has been damaged in the eastern region due to floods. The Ministry of Agriculture has said that there may be a food shortage. That is why we have decided to import."