Bangladesh has 19.2 lakh tonnes of food grains in govt warehouses: State minister

Bangladesh currently has 19.2 lakh tonnes of food grains in government warehouses, with 15.79 lakh tonnes of rice and 3.39 lakh tonnes of wheat available, State Minister for Food Md Abdul Bari told parliament today.

He was responding to a question from Noakhali-1 MP AM Mahbub Uddin about the country’s food grain availability.

The state minister said that to maintain supply, the government imports rice and wheat through both government-to-government (G-to-G) agreements and open tenders.

Domestically, rice is procured from contracted rice mills during the Boro and Aman seasons, while paddy and wheat are bought from registered farmers at government-set prices.

According to the state minister, Bangladesh has received 3 lakh tonnes of rice against a total contract of 6 lakh tonnes in the current fiscal year (2025-26), including 5 lakh tonnes via international tenders and 1 lakh tonnes through G-to-G imports. The remaining 3 lakh tonnes are awaiting delivery.

Wheat imports total 5.35 lakh tonnes from the United States against a contract of 7.10 lakh tonnes, with the remaining 1.75 lakh tonnes expected within the stipulated period.

Abdul Bari further said the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee (FPMC) under the Ministry of Food oversees domestic procurement policies and plans to purchase 5 lakh tonnes of paddy and 12.13 lakh tonnes of rice in the upcoming Boro season from May to August this year.

He added that rice and wheat will also be procured domestically and internationally as needed in the coming fiscal year 2026-27.