The price of fine rice may come down in the market if it is imported, but the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina does not agree with the proposal of rice import.
Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzque made the remarks after a meeting with Arnold Hamlers, country director of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) at the Secretariat on Thursday. When asked about the rise in prices of agricultural
commodities, the minister said, “Rice prices are rising. Of course, I would say that the price of coarse rice is not increasing. Tk 2 to Tk 1 per kg has decreased in the last few days. The price of thin rice is on the rise.”
“People incline to thin rice. Everyone wants to eat fine rice now. There is about 20 lakh tonnes of rice in stock. Besides, the production has also icreased,” said the agriculture minister.
Abdur Razzque said, “Syndicates become active when supply is low. I talked to the food controllers of Naogaon and Kushtia yesterday. They said the price of coarse rice has not gone up, but there is a shortage of fine rice. What do we do now? We will increase the hybrid production.”
“We can't depend on foreigners for rice. The production of fine rice is low. We need to produce more fine quality rice so that we can be self-sufficient in food,” added Abdur Razzque.
The minister said, if we import something, we will have control. The prime minister is not allowing it. If you import rice, may be the price will go down a bit. But she (Prime Minister) said, “I am giving rice at the rate of Tk 10 for the ultra-poor. I am giving rice through VGF and OMS programmes. Poor people have no problem. The rich people who want to eat rice let them have it. My farmers also have to get the price. The price of fine rice is high while the price of coarse rice is low. And that is our goal, so that the poor do not suffer.”
Apart from rice, the prices of other agricultural products are also higher. When asked whether the government has failed to control the market in such a situation, the agriculture minister said, “Our responsibility is to produce. I don't think cauliflower production has been low. Covid-19 has caused a bit of inflation around the world. Container fares are higher than they used to be, truck fares are higher here. Besides, import prices of different raw materials and products have also gone up.”
