Rice prices to go down in a week
Rice prices will come down within a week, newly appointed Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said yesterday.
He also blamed the recent price hike on the “shortage” of transport for two to three days during the December 30 election.
The minister made the remarks while talking to reporters after paying tribute to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by placing a wreath at his grave in Gopalganj's Tungipara.
Tipu said he along with Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder sat with rice mill owners, traders and others concerned on Thursday when they promised to reduce the rice prices.
He said the price of coarse rice remained steady although there was a rise in that of the fine one. “Our target will be to keep the prices of coarse rice stable as the common people of our country consume it,” he said, adding that they were also trying to control the prices of fine rice.
Tipu said there is a huge amount of paddy and rice stocks in government silos. “The stocks are higher than last year's. So, there's nothing to be worried about."
Turning to the country's trade deficit, the minister said there was much progress in trade in the last 10 years. “Now, we're trying to venture into the markets of China and India with 250 crore people.”
He added that they had a plan to set the RMG export target of 60 billion by 2021. “We hope the export target will be achieved if we can capture the markets of the two countries.”
Tipu said steps had been taken to explore export market in Indonesia, a country of 25 crore people. “Our export deficit will come down if our efforts see a success.”
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