Rice price high for excessive profits by millers, retailers

Excessive profits secured by rice millers and retailers are to blame for the price hike in Bangladesh despite a bumper production, found a survey of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI). 

The BRRI conducted the research at the field level to find out why the price of rice was not decreasing in the market.

The research has shown that rice mill owners and retailers are making excess profits, said BRRI Director General Md Shahjahan Kabir at an event yesterday.

In the Annual Research Review Workshop organised by the BRRI in Gazipur, he said rice mill owners were making a profit of Tk 8 to Tk 14 per kilogramme of rice.

The production cost of farmers has also increased slightly, according to a statement of the agriculture ministry.

Besides, corporate groups are entering the rice market and trying to take control, he said.

There was a bumper yield in the Aman season and so there will be no shortage of rice till next June, he said, adding that instead there would be a surplus of 42 lakh tonnes.

Apart from the demand for rice of 17 crore people, non-human consumption (26 per cent) has also been taken into consideration here, he added.

The demand for rice will increase in the coming days, said Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque.

"On one hand the population is increasing, on the other hand agricultural land is decreasing. The use of land for other crops including corn and vegetables is also increasing," he said.

"Crops that used to be grown at home are now being cultivated in the fields," he said, adding that as a result, the amount of land available for rice cultivation was decreasing.

In order to increase the production of rice under these critical conditions, more emphasis should be placed on research. At the same time, there should be rapid expansion of new varieties which are invented, he added.

The government is working to ensure nutritious food for all. The use of land is also increasing for the commercial production of various fruits, he said.

In this situation, all organisations, scientists and officials must face the challenges of the future with a coordinated and specific plan, he added.

He called for objective research to find out the real reason behind the rice price hike despite bumper production.

"We have found many reasons in the research of the BRRI. Apart from the BRRI, the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, the Centre for Policy Dialogue and other research institutes also need to conduct research on this issue," he added.

Shamsul Alam, state minister for planning, Wahida Akter, agriculture secretary, Shaikh Mohammad Bokhtiar, executive chairman at Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, and Badal Chandra Biswas, director general at the Department of Agricultural Extension, also spoke.