We are not mixing trade with politics. Since India, Myanmar or Pakistan are our closest neighbors, the import cost is also relatively low. Therefore, we welcome neighboring countries interested in exporting. Ali Imam Majumdar, Food Advisor, said these things while briefing journalists after inspecting the overall progress of the Patenga silo under construction in Chittagong and the goods unloading activities at the port on January 21. He also said, today we inspected the overall activities of the Patenga silo under construction in Chittagong and the goods unloading activities at the port. The construction of the Patenga silo with a capacity of about 114 thousand metric tons is underway. The construction work is scheduled to be completed next June. There are also various challenges in the construction of the silo due to the monsoon and rain. I have given instructions to the concerned officials on how to complete the silo construction work within the specified time, considering all aspects. Once the silo construction work is completed, the food storage capacity in Chattogram will increase manifold. In response to the question of what issues the government is focusing on to ensure the country’s food security, the food advisor further said, “Unfortunately, it is true that Bangladesh is a disaster-prone country. Untimely floods during this year’s Aman season have severely damaged food production. To address that challenge, we are mainly focusing on increasing domestic crop production. For this reason, the government has continued research activities on various issues. In response to the question of whether rice prices are not decreasing in the domestic market despite continued rice imports from different countries, Ali Imam Majumdar said, “It is not correct to say that rice prices are not decreasing at all. The price of coarse rice in the country has decreased by about 5 taka. This year, the government has set a target of importing about 8 to 9 lakh metric tons of rice from different countries. Rice has already arrived in the country from many countries. Import activities are ongoing from some countries. I hope that the price of rice will gradually decrease.” In response to the question whether the ongoing wars and political instability in different countries of the world are posing a threat to international trade, Ali Imam Majumdar further said that the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Food are sufficiently prepared to face this challenge. Under the Food Ministry’s food-friendly program, about 5 million working people of the country will be given 30 kg of rice every month. The price of rice per kg has been fixed at 15 taka. I expect that the prices of commodities will remain at a tolerable level during Ramadan.