More than 60,000 rice and wheat traders are operating their business across the country without having licences from the authority concerned, according to food directorate officials.
A large number of traders remain outside the purview of regulations, making the forecast of food grain stock situation difficult, they added.
There are more than 0.1 million food grain traders-retail, wholesale, rice and flour mills owners who are entitled to take licences from the food directorate as the government has made it mandatory for them who have transaction a tonne per day, said Kazi Nurul Islam, director of the food directorate.
"Some 40,000 food grain (rice and wheat) traders have so far taken licences from the food directorate while the rest-more than 60,000-are doing business without licences," he said, adding that the government is now determined to bring them under regulations.
It is important to have an overall picture of food grains including its stocks, he said, explaining that licence holders have to send reports on their fortnightly trading to the food directorate.
Against a backdrop of shortfall of rice and a recent price hike of the staple food, food minister Qamrul Islam on October 02 asked all the rice and wheat traders to take licences from the food directorate under essential commodity control act-1956 by October 30.
He also warned stern legal action against those who will fail to meet the lawful requirement within the stipulated time.
The government blamed traders and rice mill owners for the sky-rocketing rice prices, saying that hoarding of rice by the traders pushed up its prices sharply.
When asked about a recent decision, Mr Islam said there is law and an SRO (Statutory Regulatory Order) was issued in 2011 in this regard.
"We are now implementing the law and instruction has been given to the authorities concerned in this regard," Mr Islam added.
A total of 39,569 traders and millers who are doing rice and wheat business across the country have obtained licences from the food directorate, according to the statistics of Directorate General of Food.
Out of them, some 1,372 are wholesalers, 6406 are retailers, 406 flour mill owners, 20,544 rice mill owners, 3,992 OMS (open market sale) dealers and the rest 6,849 are fair price dealers, according to the data.
Food ministry officials, however, said the government imported 0.6 million tonnes of rice and floated tender to import additional 0.35 million tonnes of rice to meet the deficit of rice this year.
Private sector businesses already imported 0.75 million tonnes of rice in last three months, they said, adding that the government would import 1.5 million tonnes of rice in the current fiscal year.
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