Rice prices yet to come down to tolerable level

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Talha Bin Habib The prices of different varieties of rice at the retail level are yet to come down to a tolerable limit for the poor and middle-income groups of people, despite increased production of staple food and sufficient stock with the government. Customers blamed that a section of traders are unwilling to reduce the price of rice for their petty interests, notwithstanding the availability of its adequate stocks of and also having a good supply chain. But the traders disputed this, stating that the recent petroleum price-hike has triggered a hike in transportation cost from some rice producing districts in the northern region of the country to the capital. The country harvested a record rice output in last Boro and Aus seasons and it is also expected to achieve the targeted output of Aman this season as predicted by the agricultural department. The country produced around 33.5 million tonnes of rice in fiscal year (FY) 2010-11. In FY 2007-08, about 54,000 tonnes of Aus were produced while Aman output was then at 1,22,000 tonnes and Boro, at 4,54,000 tonnes. In FY 2008-09 the production of Aus stood at 68,000 tonnes, Aman, 1,44,000 tonnes and Boro, 4,56,000 tonnes. In FY 2009-10, Aus was produced at the level of 61,000 tonnes, Aman, 1,54,000 tonnes and Boro, 4,62,000 tonnes, according to Bangladesh Bureaus of Statistics (BBS). "At present, we have a sufficient stock of food grain. The stock can easily meet the present internal demand," Md Badrul Hasan, Director (Procurement Division) of the Directorate of Food told the FE. At the retail level Friday, per kg of coarse variety of rice was sold at Tk 32 while the price of Nazirshail, a different quality of rice, ranged between Tk 52 to Tk 54 per kg. Minicate was sold between Tk 44 to Tk 48 a kg. "We couldn't understand why the prices of rice are yet to come down to a tolerable level, despite having sufficient stock and harvesting good production," Md Baset, a private service holder told the FE at Kaptan Bazar Friday. Traders at Badamtali wholesale rice market in the capital said that the prices of different varieties of rice in the local markets are now stable due to sufficient production and smooth supply chain, both of which can easily fulfill the consumers' present demand. They expressed the hope that the prices of all varieties of rice would decrease in the local market once the on-going Aman harvesting is completed. "We (traders) are expecting that the prices of all varieties of rice would come down to at least Tk 100 to Tk 150 per maund (37.324-kg) within the next fifteen days once the newly harvested Aman rice after the ongoing Bengali month of Agrahayan is completed," Kabir Ahmed Molla, a trader at Badamtali told the FE Friday. He said that the wholesale price of per maund of Minicate variety of rice was sold Friday at Tk 1,450 to Tk 1,550, and Nazirshail, between Tk 1,800 to Tk 2,000. Rice of BR-28 category was sold at Tk 1,150 to Tk 1,250 while BR-29 variety ranged between Tk 1,100 to Tk 1,200, per maund.