Government Watch

Directorate General of Food

department

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Source: BDPolicyLab Watch record and cited public sourcesAs of 2026-07-05

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Head: Md Abul Hasanath Humayun Kabir
Role: Director General
Annual budget: n/a
Staff: 12819
Established: 1971
Legal basis: Food (Special Courts) Act 1956; Public Food Distribution System under Ministry of Food formed after independence in 1971. DG Food traces its institutional origin to the Bengal Civil Supplies Department established by the Bengal Rationing Order 1943 in response to the 1943 Bengal Famine. After Bangladesh's independence, the Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies (later renamed Ministry of Food in 2012) established the Directorate General of Food as the primary operational arm.

The Directorate General of Food is focused on maintaining market stability and strategic reserves while managing the transition of food-based safety-net programs between fiscal years.

Recent activity

Dated activity retained in the order supplied by the tracker.

2026-06-11budget
Finance Minister announced expansion of food assistance programs in the FY 2026-27 budget.
source
2026-06-17other
DG Food reported government food grain stocks reached 2,060,507 metric tons.
source
2026-06-23controversy
Government debunked a fake purchase order regarding the import of 150,000 MT of rice from India.
source

Established year 1971: DG Food's institutional predecessor was the Bengal Civil Supplies Department (est. 1943 under the Bengal Rationing Order 1943 post-Bengal Famine), which continued as East Pakistan's food department. After Bangladesh's independence in 1971, the Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies formally reconstituted the Directorate General of Food; established_year set to 1971 as the post-independence institutional start. The ministry was renamed Ministry of Food in 2012 (confirmed Wikipedia). Current head Md Abul Hasanath Humayun Kabir confirmed as Director General via DG Food's official officer list (dgfood.gov.bd/site/view/officer_list_category/6864) and BSS News report of April 2025 (bssnews.net/district/264113); specific appointment date not available in any identified primary source -- head_since left null. Staff count 12,819 sanctioned posts: sourced from CGIAR Diagnostic Study of DG Food (cgspace.cgiar.org); breakdown: 227 Class I cadre, 676 Class I non-cadre, 1,763 Class II, 5,443 Class III, 5,613 Class IV. DG Food standalone annual budget in BDT not separately published in MoF budget documents; annual_budget_bdt left null. Ministry of Food food subsidy FY2025-26 Tk 8,100 crore confirmed by The Daily Star (thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/food-subsidies-raised-nearly-12-3842841). Buffer stock 19.20 lakh MT (15.79 lakh MT rice + 3.39 lakh MT wheat) as of 30 March 2026: confirmed independently by BSS News, The Daily Star, Dhaka Tribune, and UNB. Boro 2026 procurement drive 3 May 2026: confirmed by BSS News, Outlook Bangla, Bangladesh Pratidin, Business in Bangladesh, FAO GIEWS, and Jago News 24. Procurement prices (paddy Tk 36, parboiled Tk 49, atap Tk 48, wheat Tk 36) confirmed by multiple outlets including Daily Star and BD Pratidin. 5.00 lakh MT private rice import directive: confirmed cross-source (Daily Star JS session report, TBS, IREF). Ministry of Food minister Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid (BNP): confirmed by BSS News and IRRI press release.

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