Kushtia millers manipulated it
Price manipulation by Kushtia mill owners is one of the main reasons behind the recent rice price hike in the capital as well as some other parts of the country, according to a government-commissioned probe report.
The probe committee, formed on Tuesday by the Kushtia district administration, found out that the millers in Kushtia's Khajanagar arbitrarily hiked rice price on the pretext of increased paddy price but failed to show documents on any recent paddy purchase.
Khajanagar is one of the country's biggest rice trading hubs with concentration of around 500 rice mills there.
The investigation body also said each of the millers has huge rice stocks in warehouses. Rice traders in Dhaka and elsewhere are fixing prices even higher after buying from the millers, they added.
The millers who were selling per maund of fine rice (miniket) in the range of Tk 1,120 - Tk 1,150 during the Ramadan, hiked the price to Tk 1,280 from Monday.
The five-member investigation committee led by Kushtia Additional District Magistrate Fazlur Rahman opined that the new rate is illogical as they (millers) bought the paddy at Tk 600 to 630 a maund and the production cost has not increased anywhere.
“Such fixation of price for rice is totally unethical,” Fazlur Rahman told The Daily Star. He said the millers should fix the selling price consistent with the price of procuring paddy.
After visiting Khajanagar and inspecting the market scenario, the probe body handed over its report to Kushtia Deputy Commissioner Abdul Mannan, which is to be soon forwarded to the ministry, sources said. The DC couldn't be reached for comment.
The Kushtia mill owners, however, denied their role behind price hike saying the cost of paddy has shot up by about Tk 100 a maund in last one month.
The millers in Khajanagar alleged that the rice traders in Dhaka are selling rice at Tk 1,325 to 1,350 a maund to make extra profit just putting the blame on the millers.
The other members of the probe body are Golam Murtoza, botanist of District Agricultural Extension Department, Monwar Hossain, district marketing officer, and Abdul Halim, assistant police super of Kushtia sadar circle.
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