The government has decided to export rice to Sri Lanka at $450 per metric ton.
Food Minister Kamrul Islam and also Chairman of the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee (FPMC) has made the disclosure in a meeting of FPMC on Monday afternoon.
A Sri Lankan team will come within 10 to 12 days and a contract will be signed regarding the matter, the minister informed.
Kamrul said the government would also procure around 3,00,000 tonnes of Aman rice this year.
The authority has fixed Tk32 per kg as the price of Aman rice and Tk30 per kg as the production cost of this year.
According to the Agriculture Ministry, the production costs of Aman paddy and Aman rice have increased this year due to price hike of fertilizer and fuel for irrigation, labour cost and milling charge.
The production cost of Aman rice Tk25.42 in the previous Aman season, Agriculture Ministry’s Senior Assistant Chief Sayemur Rashid Khan told the Dhaka Tribune.
The Food Ministry officials claimed FPMU may suggest Tk31-32 as the price of Aman rice.
During the previous Aman season the ministry bought Aman rice at Tk30 considering the production cost in accordance with the agriculture ministry estimation.
The target of Aman production this year was set at 12.996 tonnes.
Last year the target was 13.2 tonnes while the actual production stood at 13.023 tonnes.
The Aman rice procurement will start from November 15 and will continue on till February 12, 2015.
