Rice prices will stabilise soon: Razzaque
Amid a sharp rise in the price of rice, Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque today said the price of the staple food grain will be stabilised soon.
The minister said the food ministry currently has the highest amount of food stock of 20 lakh and open market sale (OMS) of rice at upazila level will start from Thursday.
Meanwhile, new rice will hit the market in April. As a result, rice prices will soon be stable and normal, he said.
He was briefing media after taking part in a session of agriculture and food ministries at the deputy commissioners' conference at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in Dhaka.
Over the last one month, retail prices of rice edged up as much as 6 per cent in the markets in the capital.
Today, retail prices of medium grain were Tk 52-58 per kilogramme, up from Tk 48-Tk 56 a month ago, data from the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh showed.
Explaining the reasons behind the rise in the rice prices, the Razzaque said recently the price of rice has been somewhat volatile and upward in the country. "Food prices have also risen sharply in the international market. Wheat prices, which was $230-280 per tonnes, has risen to $450."
"In the fiscal year 2020-21, 48 lakh tonnes of wheat were imported but only 16 lakh tonnes were imported till January in this fiscal year. Wheat imports are declining due to rising prices. As a result, the price of flour is higher than that of rice, but the price of flour was always lower than that of rice," he said.
Besides, there are 10 lakh Rohingyas in the country and 22-24 lakh new faces are being added every year, he continued.
Apart from that, some of the rice is also being used as animal feed, he said. "With these, the demand and consumption of rice have increased. However, there is no food crisis in the country at the moment and nor will there be in the future."
The minister, however, questioned, "Why should the price of the crop which farmers sell at Tk 15 per kg at the field level become Tk 40-45 per kg when it comes to Dhaka?"
"There are middlemen all over the world, but why is there such a difference in price? There are many unforeseen costs involved in transportation, including extortion."
He said deputy commissioners, cabinet division and agriculture ministry will jointly conduct a study to find out the cost of a track from the field stage to reach Dhaka.
Then, action will be taken nationally to resolve the issues raised through the study, Razzaque added.
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