Govt food grain stock hits six-year high: adviser

The government’s food grain stock has climbed to its highest level in six years, Food Adviser Ali Imam Majumder said yesterday.

The current food grain reserves have surpassed the nation’s designated safety threshold, marking a remarkable achievement in strengthening the country’s food security, he said.

Bangladesh needs about 13.5 lakh tonnes of food grains to maintain a comfortable reserve. Current stocks, however, stand at more than 22.1 lakh tonnes, according to the adviser.

He shared the figures at a press conference at the Secretariat in Dhaka.

The current accumulated reserves are approximately 8.34 lakh tonnes higher than the stock recorded during the same period last year.

With reserves well above the benchmark, the next administration will not be under pressure to rush decisions when it takes charge, he said. Instead, it will have the space to plan its next steps in a measured way.

Majumder added that subsidy programmes would continue uninterrupted, as the stock position remains strong.

“We have done everything necessary to keep the market stable.”

Reflecting on his tenure, he said he had worked to the best of his ability within the scope of his role, while accepting shortcomings in some areas.

“There are failures in some areas, and I take responsibility for those.”

He also said that he had already submitted his asset statement to the Cabinet Division.

At the briefing, a comparative report on food stocks over the past six years, from 2021 to 2026, was presented. The report showed that as of February 10, the country’s rice reserves stood at more than 18.76 lakh tonnes, alongside 3.22 lakh tonnes of wheat and 1.07 lakh tonnes of paddy.

In 2021, the total food grain stock was only 6.69 lakh tonnes.

This rose sharply to 20.09 lakh tonnes in 2022 and 20.26 lakh tonnes in 2023. However, the stock declined in subsequent years, dropping to 16.84 lakh tonnes in 2024 and further to 13.76 lakh tonnes in 2025.