Rice prices fall at wholesale, no impact on retail market yet
Staff Reporter :
No impact was seen in the country’s retail market, including capital city Dhaka, despite reduction of rice price at wholesale level as new Boro rice has started arriving in different markets across the country.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to bring down the price of coarse rice within the purchasing power of people with limited income throughout the next financial year and even if the cost of food subsidy increases, the Ministry of Finance will allocate it.
The government has estimated Tk 8,000 crore which will be allocated for food subsidy in the next financial year, Finance Ministry sources said.
However, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has set a production target 2.15 crore tonnes of Boro paddy will be produced from this year’s season. Farmers have planted Boro seedlings in 50 lakh hectares of land this year in the country.
In the fiscal year 2021-22, boro paddy was cultivated in 48.14 lakh hectares of land and the production was about 2.2 crore tonnes.
During a field visit in different wholesale rice markets in the city including Mirpur-01, Babu Bazar, Badamtali and Mohammad Krishi Market, it was seen that the rice price has started decreasing at wholesale level, but rice is being sold in retail market at previous price.
Mohammad Ali, a wholesale trader in Mohammadpur Krishi Market said new Boro rice has started arriving in the market two to three days before the Eid. Since then the wholesale price of rice has started to decrease gradually, he said, adding that old rice is being sold at the previous price.
BR-28 (new rice) is selling at Tk 48-49 per kg in the wholesale market, which was Tk 52-53 last few weeks, while old BR-28 rice is being sold at Tk 50-51.
“Harvesting of Boro paddy has started in different districts across the country and farmers are happy to see their good yield as there were no any major natural disasters.
Some new rice has already arrived in the markets. The price is also lower than before and the supply of rice will increase next week,” Chitta Ranjan, Manager of Bismillah Rice Traders of Mirpur-01 told this correspondent.
However, other variety of rice will start coming in the market in three-four days including miniket of Boro season too, he added. The government will increase the supply of low-priced rice through OMS only if the price of coarse rice in rural areas is more than Tk 40 and Tk 42 in Dhaka after paddy harvesting in Boro season.
Apart from it, one crore TCB card holders will be given 10 kg of rice at the rate of Tk 15 per kg per month as per the instructions of the Prime Minister.
It may take about six months to supply rice through TCB after introducing smart cards. However, the government will also keep the OMS programme active as a weapon to intervene in the market price of rice, sources said.
“We are expecting a good yield of Boro rice this year. Coarse rice may be available at the lowest price in years if there is no stockpile,” Sadhan Chandra Majumder, Minister for Food, told this correspondent. However, the government has decided to buy 16.5 lakh tonnes of Boro rice and paddy in a four-month drive beginning from May 7 and will continue till August 31.
