‘19.2 lakh MT food grains in stock’

State Minister for Food Md Abdul Bari on Sunday said the government currently has 19.20 lakh tons of food grains in its public godowns and has taken various initiatives to increase the stock through both international and domestic procurement.

He said that as of on Monday, the government’s food godowns hold some 19.20 lakh tons of food grains, including 15.79 lakh tons of rice and 3.39 lakh tons of wheat, reports media.

The state minister said the government is increasing food stocks through imports of rice and wheat from abroad under government-to-government (G2G) arrangements and open international tenders, alongside domestic procurement of paddy and rice from contracted rice mills and genuine farmers holding agricultural assistance cards at government-fixed prices during Boro and Aman seasons.

Regarding international procurement, the state minister said that in the current 2025-26 fiscal year, contracts have been signed to import a total of 6 lakh tons of rice – 5 lakh tons through international tenders and 1 lakh tons through G2G arrangements.

Of this, 3 lakh tons of rice have already been received, and the remaining 3 lakh tons are expected to arrive soon.

For wheat, contracts have been signed to import a total of 7.10 lakh tons of wheat- 50,000 tons through international tenders and 6.60 lakh tons of wheat from the United States under G2G arrangements.