“The commerce minister is right, prices should be at Tk 40,” he said on Friday while addressing the National Food Security Day organized by the food ministry. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Minister Tofail said it would ‘unrealistic’ to expect the rice prices to fall below Tk 40 if the farmers’ interests were to be protected. Rice prices started to hike when unseasonal floods in April last year damaged crops in the northeastern backswamps or Haors. A second round of floods during the monsoon hit rice production badly with the government’s rice stocks depleting below 200,000 tonnes in mid last year. Finance Minister AMA Muhith (centre) is flanked by Food Minister Qamrul Islam (right) and Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury (left) on Friday.

Source: bd News24 February 02, 2018 12:00 UTC