Despite the government’s repeated warnings and fixing of rice prices, an organized syndicate in association with a section of rice mill owners is continuously plotting to hike rice prices.
Within a week, the price of per sack of fine quality rice (based on varieties) has increased by at least Tk 250 or more while coarse rice price has increased by at least Tk 100 or more.
Wholesalers said, as they have to purchase rice at a high rate from the mill gate, they do not have anything to do in this regard. However, they also said, mill owners in association with some giant investors are manipulating the rice market.
“Based on the market situation, there is no hope of rice price reduction. It may take until next Boishak to reduce the rice price, especially the minicat rice price,” said a rice retailer from Karwan Bazar.
The price shoot-up scenario was also found true in the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) daily market price update list. According to TCB, per kg Minicat price is now Tk 60 to Tk 65, which means a 50 kg rice sack price is Tk 3250.
On the other hand, per kg minicat rice price in the retail level is Tk 65 to Tk 68 which was Tk 55 just a week ago. Atash rice is Tk 50 to Tk 52 per kg, coarse rice is Tk 46 to Tk 47 per kg.
The government last September fixed the price of fine rice at Tk 51.50 per kg and medium quality rice at Tk 45 per kg at the mill gate. But even after two and a half months, the mill owners continue to ignore that directive.
However, the Directorate General of Food said, to keep the rice market normal, they are importing rice from abroad. At the same time, they are inspecting each rice mill factory as well.
Meanwhile, the mill owners are not selling rice at the price fixed by the government, which has affected the wholesale and retail markets. The price of rice has gone up by Tk 2 to 4 per kg in a week. Low-income people are suffering due to the increase in rice prices even in the season full of Aman.
Mill owners said that even though the government has fixed the price, it is not possible to sell rice at the previous price due to the increase in the price of paddy. They are also giving excuses of high production costs.
Bangladesh Auto Rice Mills Owners' Association president AKM Khorshed Alam Khan told this reporter, “If the price of anything increases at the bottom, it also has an impact on the production level. This year as the paddy price has increased, adding to our production cost, we are unable to provide rice as per the government rate”.
However, he sought some additional facilities for the betterment of the mill owners while at the same time demanding to find and punish traders who are illegally stockpiling paddy in their warehouses.
Sajid Ahsan, a private job holder, went to the market to buy a 50 kilogram (kg) Minicat rice sack last week, but was not able to do so as the price was too high. That day he found the rice price was Tk 2850 per sack that went up to Tk 3030 in the next two days. This week per sack rice price is almost Tk 3600.
However, expressing anger he said, “We are limited-income people, if the price of rice goes up like this, we will not be able to maintain our day-to-day life. The government should take stern action against those who are manipulating rice market prices.”
