DUMURIA, KHULNA, Feb 1: Ahead of forthcoming Ramadan, the market of essentials has been unstable with rice price rising in Dumuria Upazila of the district.
According to market sources, two months ahead of Ramadan, the commodity markets have turned unstable. The rice price has gone higher despite record level of Aman production.
If there is no crisis, the rice markets are made unstable by trickery and rumours. After seven days of the election, the price of per bag rice was increased by Tk 150-400. It has put general consumers in disarray.
While talking with this correspondent of The Daily Observer, rice traders in the upazila blamed the rice millers for the rice price hike. "We have to purchase rice at higher rates at the mill gates. So there is no option but to sell at higher prices," they added.
But millers said, the rice prices have been raised as paddy prices increased after the election. It was transport crisis at the election time, they added.
He further said, now the rice price has been reduced. Millers are now blaming wholesalers and retailers for the increase in price.
If this artificial rice price continues, it will go beyond purchasing capacity of general people during the Ramadan.
Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Mazumdar, on his first day of new office, said, the campaign will be strengthened against rice-paddy hoarders to keep essentials prices under control.
"Paddy production has been good in the country. Our food stock is good. There is huge supply in bazaars," the Minister said.
In a competition, millers are increasing rice prices, and action will be taken soon to stop this bad competition, he added.
A rice trader, Sheikh Abdus Salam blamed the tricks of rice traders and said, this time there is no reason behind increasing the rice price.
The rice market situation will turn stable, if they are identified and brought under legal action, he added.
Regarding the rice import, he said, in the absence of rice crisis, the import duty should not be reduced.
Those people are waiting for taking this advantage, who are making price trickery in markets, he said. He further said, if rice is imported at lower duty and marketed, local farmers will be affected. In the past, unwanted incidents occurred due to rice market trickery. Then the Food Minister gave word for identifying trick-makers and bringing them under action, but it was not done, he added.
Corporate houses are hoarding paddy in godowns, creating rice crisis in markets. In trickery, they are not releasing rice in markets. That is why the per bag rice (50 kg) price has gone up by Tk 150-400, he maintained.
According to market sources, countrys rice markets were fully stable just before the January 7 election. After the oath-taking by the new government on January 11, the highest rice price hike was recorded.
Also by spreading rumours, some owners of bazaars are stocking rice.
On January 6, at the wholesale level, per bag boiled rice of Jherashail was selling at Tk 3,150, Paijam at Tk 2,500, Noorjahan at Tk 2,300, Minicat at Tk 2,350, Vietnam Beti at 2,250, and local Beti at Tk 2,400.
On January 14, per bag Jherashail was selling at Tk 3,300, Paijam at Tk 2,650, Noorjahan at Tk 2,500, Minicat at Tk 2,700, Vietnam Beti at Tk 2,500 and local Beti at Tk 2,800.
General Secretary of Rice Traders Association at the Khulnas biggest rice bazaar, said, like every year, millers purchased paddy at higher rates, pushing up the rice prices. Millers are selling per bag rice with Tk 200-250 increase.
He also complained, in the absence of necessary bazaar monitoring by the government, traders are raising the rice price in syndication.
According to the Food Ministry sources, this year a record production of Aman paddy has been made. Rice started to arrive in bazaars in the beginning of December.
Aman rice production was fixed at about 1,71,78,000 metric tons (mt) from 1,58,74,000 ha of land. So far 97 per cent of Aman fields or 57,27,000 ha of land have been harvested, with a production of 1,70,93,000 mt rice.
Market sources informed, as the government rice distribution has increased, millers in syndication are increasing rice prices.
