Today, Ali Imam Majumder, a prominent authority on food policies, announced a new initiative expected to impact the lives of 5.5 million low-income households in the country. Under the Open Market Sale (OMS) program, there will be an increase of half a million families that will be supplied food items at a reduced cost, up from the previous count of 5 million families. The support from this initiative, initially extending for five months every year, is now set to last for six months annually, offering extended aid to these households.
The advisor revealed that the state-operated Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) is responsible for obtaining goods from the local market and dispensing these essentials at more affordable prices, backed by subsidies. Furthermore, under the Ministry’s Food Friendly Programme, the government supplies a considerable rice subsidy, forming another component of the OMS initiative for distributing food grains.
The program acts as a major source of supply, benefiting five million families with the provision of 30 kg of rice for half the year. As per the current fiscal plans (2024-25), this arrangement is set to change, extending its duration to six months and increasing its reach to 5.5 million families throughout the next fiscal year of 2025-26.
At present, there are approximately 14.65 million tonnes of rice and wheat in stock, out of which 11.44 million tonnes are rice and 3.05 million tonnes are wheat. However, more shipments of wheat are expected soon, and additional procurement plans through tenders are also underway.
It is acknowledged that there may be a future need to import rice. However, considering the recently successful Boro rice harvest, any such imports are not imminent. The country is now looking to acquire 1.4 million tonnes of Boro rice from local resources, which would negate the need for immediate rice imports.
Previously, the country faced the necessity to import rice due to an insufficient Aman rice yield. However, this year’s plentiful Aman rice reserves mean fewer purchases will be needed from international sources. Majumder shared that it is not only the private sector that covers the nation’s wheat demands, but the government also plays a role by importing roughly 700,000 tonnes for the OMS.
Even the wealthiest nations cannot dictate natural events, and crops can be devastated due to droughts or other disasters. The primary duty of the food ministry is to ensure a constant food supply to the marketplace as required. Their chief aim is market stability, and as part of this, rations are supplied to the armed forces, police, prison wardens, and other ration recipients from the same warehouse.
Wheat distribution via the OMS is active, though internal production alone cannot meet demands. The objective is to maintain steady prices by ensuring an uninterrupted supply of wheat through the OMS program. The country’s primary source of rice imports is its neighboring country, India.
Notably, no neighboring nation except India can cater to the demand for parboiled rice. Neither Myanmar nor Vietnam produce this variety. The country predominantly imports Atap rice from Myanmar, Vietnam, and Pakistan. Endeavors to diversify the sources for rice imports are ongoing, and several countries have shown interest in exporting rice.
Some wheat is imported from Russia under the government-to-government system, while some is procured through global tenders. A less pronounced arm of the Ministry, the Food Safety Authority, has plans for expansion underway, even though its current impact is not significantly remarkable.
More power will be allocated to the Food Safety Authority, and efforts are ongoing to streamline this transition. Previously, sanitary inspectors operated under the municipality while being accountable to the civil surgeon or the administration. With the transformation into city corporations, certain responsibilities have been shifted.
For every district, an officer from the Food Safety Authority is assigned to work alongside the DCs. To facilitate these operations, an elementary laboratory has been set up. As for the question of wheat and rice warehouse crises, Majumder noted that during certain seasons, the accumulated crop production surpasses the warehouse capacity, leading to storage issues.
Several godowns are being constructed to address this storage problem. However, these godowns are not designed for permanent use. Repair and rebuilding are necessary parts of maintaining these storage facilities. It’s also important to note that trains are typically the most cost-effective mode of transport for food items.
However, certain challenges associated with railway transport must not be overlooked. These include issues related to the capacity and efficiency of the railways, as well as the attitudes of railway officials. Under the Public Food Distribution (PFD) program, rice and flour sales are performed in the open market to ensure price stability.
Efforts are being dedicated to make the scope of this initiative even more transparent, dynamic, and user-friendly. With these intentions, the outdated OMS Policy-2015 has been replaced by the newly launched OMS Policy-2024.
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