The prices of rice have gone up by Tk 150 to Tk 900 per 50kg sack since the January 7 polls despite record government stocks and no sign of a supply shortage.

The prices of rice have gone up by Tk 150 to Tk 900 per 50kg sack since the January 7 polls despite record government stocks and no sign of a supply shortage.

Chinigura cost Tk 6,100 a sack on January 6, but the price shot up to Tk 7,000 a week later at the wholesale level.

Before the polls, a sack of Jirashail cost Tk 3,150, Pajam Tk 2,500, Noorjahan Tk 2,300, Miniket Tk 2,350, Vietnam Beti Tk 2,250 and Desi Beti Tk 2,400. Just a week later, the prices of Jirasail rose to Tk 3,300, Pajam Tk 2,650, Nurjahan Tk 2,500, Miniket Tk 2,700, Vietnam Beti Tk 2,500 and Desi Beti Tk 2,800.

A sack of Atap rice that cost Tk 3,200, is now being sold for Tk 3,600. On the other hand, the price of the miniket has risen to Tk 3,000 from Tk 2,700. Nazirshail currently costs Tk 3,600, up from Tk 3,200.

The inexplicable hike came despite the government’s assurances to dismantle syndicates.

SM Nizam Uddin, the owner of M/s Azmir store in Chattogram’s Pahartali, blamed the corporate houses for the price hike, accusing them of stockpiling paddy and rice. “Their job is to stockpile and increase the prices,” he said.
 

Chattrogram’s Deputy Commissioner Abul Bashar Mohammed Fakhruzzaman said he saw no reason for the price hike and claimed that the market was under control.

Wholesale traders claim that the corporate houses buy rice from the market and store it in their own warehouses, triggering an artificial crisis. Meanwhile, some warehouse owners are stockpiling rice due to food shortage rumours.

Zafar Alam, vice president of Pahartali Merchant’s Association, suggested raiding warehouses to bring down prices.

Abdullah Al Mamun of M/s Abdul Mannan Saudagar at Pahartali claimed that rice mills have about 10 times the stock of rice as the government. “I don’t see any reason for a price hike or crisis.”

Currently, the government warehouses have 1,417,433 metric tonnes of rice, 198,103 MT of wheat and 16,064 MT of paddy.

Published Date: January 15, 2024