Prices of rice has soared over the past couple of days amid the growing coronavirus outbreak, which rice mill owners claimed due to higher procurement prices of paddy despite bumper boro harvest this year.
Rice mill owners said they had to purchase paddy with higher price than that of the government fixed prices.
Higher procurement price of paddy raised the production cost and the retail price hike of rice resulted, said Omar Farooq, president of a section of the Kushtia Rice Mill Owners' Association.
In Dhaka, finer, medium and coarse verity rice prices went up by Tk 2-4 per kg, according to official price index prepared by Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
Prices of finer variety rice -- Miniket and Nazirshail– were at Tk 54-68 a kg on Friday. Medium quality Paijam rice was sold at Tk 45-55 per kg while coarse rice price found sold at Tk 38-45 per kg.
At the capital’s retail market, currently Miniket (new) rice is being sold at Tk 54-58 per kg, Miniket (old) at Tk 60 a kg, Basmati at Tk 60-62 per kg, Atap rice at Tk 44-48, Paijam at Tk 40 and pulao at Tk 100 to Tk 105 per kg.
Retailers in the capital’s market claimed said rice mill owners raised the price of a 50 kg sack of rice by at least Tk 200 within a month, which the latter refuted saying
According to prices index available at the capital’s wholesale Babubazar market, a 50 kg sack of Atap rice price was at Tk 2000 in May, which is now at Tk 2200.
Similarly, a 50 kg sack of Minikat rice was Tk 2400, which went up to Tk 2550. The prices of all rice varieties including Nazirshail and Paijam went up at the same rate.
Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) President Golam Rahman said there is no reason for rice price hike due to bumper boro production this year.
According to Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), the production of boro paddy exceeded the target of 200,000 tonnes set by the government this year.
“Rice prices must drop. Syndicates always use crisis period to raise the prices of the essentials and that is what we are observing now over the rice prices,” said Rahman.