Food stock hits 2 million tonnes, highest in five years: Food adviser

Food Adviser Ali Imam Majumder today said the country's food stock is the highest in the last five years, adding that there is no risk of a food shortage at present.

"The current food stock situation is highly satisfactory," he said at a press conference on the country's food stock situation at the Secretariat today.

The food adviser said that as of last Thursday, government food warehouses held a total of 2,027,420 metric tonnes of foodgrains. Of this, 1,696,787 tonnes were rice, 233,224 tonnes wheat, and 97,409 tonnes paddy.

He added that the country's annual wheat demand is around seven million tonnes, while domestic production is about one million tonnes, and the remaining amount must be imported. Most of the rice, however, comes from local production, with only a small portion imported.

Responding to a question, Ali Imam said political factors will not affect economic and trade relations between Bangladesh and India, and trade between the two countries is continuing.

"We import rice from India and they sell it. We do not see this politically," he said. "The market works on the needs of buyers and sellers. We see it as a market mechanism and buy from wherever we get products at lower prices."

He also said rice prices had increased slightly last year due to natural disasters shortly after the new government took office. However, with better preparation this year, rice prices remain at a tolerable level and are expected to stay so.