Food Minister Afroza Khanam has said there is currently no shortage of food grains in the country, and that government food warehouses hold more grain than the mandated safety-reserve level.
She made the comment Thursday during question time in parliament, presided over by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed Bir Bikram, in response to a written question from opposition (Jamaat-e-Islami) lawmaker Md Mashiur Rahman Khan.
The food minister said government warehouses held a total of 2,437,807 metric tons of food grain as of Aug. 30, 2026.
She said the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee (FPMC), at a meeting held Aug. 6, set the government’s food-grain safety reserve at 1.4 million metric tons under normal conditions and 1.5 million metric tons during a crisis. As a result, she said, there is no possibility of a shortage of food (rice and wheat/flour) in the country.
Citing data from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) “Food Outlook,” she said rice demand or consumption in the country stood at 42.3 million metric tons in fiscal year 2025-26, against total supply of 43,652,000 metric tons.
Of the total rice supply, she said, 42,467,000 metric tons came from domestic production and 1,285,000 metric tons came from imports.
The food minister said wheat demand or consumption in the same fiscal year stood at 8.2 million metric tons, against total supply of 8,367,000 metric tons. Of that, domestic production was 1,029,000 metric tons and imports totaled 7,338,000 metric tons.
She said that according to the FAO’s Food Outlook, rice demand or consumption in the country could reach 42.6 million metric tons in fiscal year 2026-27, with wheat demand at 8.3 million metric tons.
The food minister added that both the government and private sector import rice and wheat to ensure normal supply in line with demand and to keep market prices stable.