Rice market volatile

Reza Mahmud :
People’s struggle to cope with escalating cost of living continues as the price of rice increased unusually in capital Dhaka and elsewhere across the country on Friday.
Showing the fuel price hiking, the rice traders increased the price of both coarse and fine rice in retail markets in the capital Tk five to 10 per kg.
Such increasing trend of the rice worsened the life of the poor and the lower-income groups of people.
Even they are already struggling with the rising cost of living as price of everything is hiked almost everyday.
A kg of coarse rice like IRRI-28 was being sold at Tk 52 to Tk 56 in different markets in the capital and other parts of the country now. Just a week ago, the price was Tk 40 to Tk 45 of such rice.
The situation is almost the same in case of the fine rice also. A kg of Jeerashail rice is sold for Tk 72 to 75, which was Tk 62 to Tk 65 in last week.
On the other hand, Nazirshail, another type of fine rice variety, is now selling at Tk 92 to Tk 96 per kg which was sold at Tk 80 to Tk 85 one week ago.
 “Something we may be economical, but without rice, we cannot live. But the extraordinary price hiking is snatching our right to live. I cannot explain more,” said Abu Sayeed, a small trader from Gandaria area told The New Nation on Saturday.
When the people are crying for increasing price of rice, the blame game has taken pul-on the millers, whole sellers and retail sellers.
A syndicate of big traders and wholesalers seized the opportunity to hike the price after creating an artificial crisis, sources said.
“We are selling rice as per our buying price, keeping only marginal profit,” Md. Kamrul Islam, a retail trader in Gandaria in the city told The New Nation.
When contacted, Kawsar Ahmed, Vice-President of Bangladesh Rice Merchant Association told The New Nation on Saturday, “Everyone knows that we bought rice from the millers and sold as per the mill rate.”
He said that whole sellers are not behind the recent price hiking.
“Even today, (Saturday, August 20, 2022) we have sold miniket rice at Tk 67 to 68 per kg while I learnt that millers have sold the same type of rice at Tk 72,” Kawsar Ahmed said. He said that they could manage to sell that rice in lower prices than the millers as it was in their stocks.
He also hinted that the price may soar further more within days.
When contacted, Layek Ali, General Secretary of Auto Rice Millers Association told The New Nation on Saturday, “We are not increasing rice price unusually. Price and cost of everything is on soaring. The rice price is not out of that trend.”
“When the rice harvesting in the haor areas hampered, we have asked the government to take initiatives of zero tariff rice importing, but they did not heed,” Layek Ali said.
He also refused further of involving with unusual price hiking of rice.
The government offices concerned failed to identify who was the real player behind hiking the extraordinary price of the most essential food grain.
Apart from these, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has blamed the traders for taking advantage of the situation of recent fuel price hiking.
He said, “Traders look for opportunities of the situation and hiked the rice price unusually.”
“Due to the increase in the price of fuel oil, the price of rice should increase by 50 paisa per kg. But it has increased by Tk4 per kg. They take the situation as a opportunity of making money,” the commerce minister said it while addressing a press conference at the secretariat recently.
The minister said that commerce ministry is monitoring the market and hopes that the price will be under control by next October.
The government initiated move to reduce the import duty from 62 percent to 25 percent in June but it is yet to make any impact on the rice market.
Following the reduction of import duty, only 26,850 tonnes of the grain entered the country between July 1 and August 14 which is lower than expectation, sources said.
As per the food ministry sources, the government gave permission to private firms to import nearly 10 lakh tonnes and market before the Aman harvest in November-December period to keep the market normal.
But the lower import trend keeping the market volatile.