TDS Desk:

The government will import 200,000 tonnes of rice and 400,000 tonnes of wheat within 15 days.

The Advisory Committee on Economic Affairs (ACEA), in a meeting with Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair, gave the approval in principle.

Normally, suppliers are given 42 days to supply the products as per the public procurement law (PPA) 2006 and public procurement rules (PPR) 2008.

After the ACEA’s approval, the supply tenure has been reduced to 15 days in order to facilitate the quick import so that there is no shortage of the food.

Regarding the proposed import, the finance adviser informed reporters that the government has taken steps to import rice and wheat as a precautionary measure to prevent any potential food shortages.

“While these imports are not urgently needed at the moment, the government aims to maintain sufficient stock for future supply,” he added.

As per the proposal, placed by the Ministry of Food, the government will import 200,000 tonnes of rice in the current fiscal year 2024-25 and 400,000 tonnes of wheat through the G2G (Government to Government) system.

In the financial year 2024-25, the government set a target to procure 350,000 tonnes of rice from international sources and 1,923,000 tonnes from domestic sources.

It also set a target to procure 700,000 tonnes of wheat from the international market and 10,000 tonnes from the domestic market for the financial year 2024-25.