Aman harvest, higher import help drive down rice prices

Prices of most varieties of rice declined in the country following the Aman harvest and a pickup in imports, traders said.
Different varieties of rice decreased by Tk 2.0-4.0 per kg both at the retail and mill gates over the last ten days in Dinajpur, Rangpur, Kushtia, Joypurhat, Naogaon, Dhaka and Chittagong, they said.
Coarse rice such as Swarna was selling at Tk29.25-29.75 per kg while its price was Tk31.50-31.75 ten days back at the mill gates.
The same variety was sold at Tk32-33 per kg at retail in Dhaka for last few days which was Tk36-37 per kg earlier.
The price of Swarna variety paddy is now selling at Tk680-720 per maund (40 kg) across the country, traders said.
Prices of Miniket rice, mostly preferred by Dhaka residents,  also decreased by Tk3-4 per kg at mill gates and Tk2-3 per kg at retail in last five days, Md Abu Hossain, a retailer at Nawabganjbazar in the city's old part, said.
"The Miniket rice ranged between Tk 44 and Tk 50 per kg, down by Tk 2-3 at the retail level in a week," he said.
Price of Najirshail, Paijam, Pari, Briidhan-28 also showed a slight plunge in last seven days, he said.
 Md Mutalib Hossain Talukder, proprietor of MHT Rice Mill in Naogaon Sadar upazila, told the FE that newly harvested paddy of Brridhan-49 and Swarna varieties have helped reduce the price slightly.
"But paddy prices are higher in this peak harvesting season compared with the last season," he said.
Miniket paddy is selling at Tk950-1000 per maund now, which was Tk 1100-1150 per maund a few days back, he said.
He said import of rice from India has seriously been affecting their business in the peak harvesting season.
He said many of the mills have been forced to shut their business for import of both of rice and rice bran from India.
Bangladesh Auto, Major and Husking Mills Owners' Association (BAMHMOA) secretary KM Layek Ali told the FE that unnecessary import of rice has forced half of the rice mills to shut their business in the current harvesting season.
He said besides legal import, smuggling of rice is also going on in the border areas, which is making local rice less competitive, he said.
"Private importers are now dominating the market. Import should be stopped for the betterment of the rice sector and also for farmers," he said.
However, government data showed that rice imports in just five months this year increased significantly compared with those of the corresponding period of last year as traders found the Indian produce cheaper than that of local crop.
Food ministry data revealed that Bangladesh's private importers brought in 0.405 million tonnes of rice from July to December 9, which is 8 per cent higher than the same period a year ago.
Rice production was recorded 34.065 million tonnes in the FY'14, which was 33.8 million tonnes in FY'13, according to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).
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