Lowest rice price fails to attract customers

Open Market Sale of rice, which began in the capital this month, has so far failed to attract enough customers even though prices have been lowered drastically. The photo was taken at an OMS outlet at Palashi.Photo: STAR

The shops selected for open market sale (OMS) of rice have failed to attract customers in the capital despite offering this time the lowest price under the programme.
Consumers shy away from the OMS shops as the rice there is substandard and the prices in the market are not too high.
The rice, which was selling at Tk 18 per kg in the OMS shops from April 1, is available at Tk 19-21 in the city's kitchen markets while medium quality rice like Parija, BR-28, BR-29 and Nazirshail (low quality) are being sold at Tk 24-30 per kg in the markets.
Fine rice, including Miniket and Nazirshail (better quality), is selling between Tk 32 and 35 per kg in the city markets.
The OMS shops had experienced a huge rush of customers last year when rice prices went up its highest. A kg of rice had been sold at Tk 30 in the OMS and BDR outlets in the capital and elsewhere in the country while the price of same quality rice was Tk 34-36 in the kitchen markets.
Meantime, sale of coarse variety of rice has fallen sharply in the city markets for the past few weeks despite a significant drop in its price for over a month.
Visiting different OMS shops in the capital, The Daily Star correspondents found the OMS dealers were sitting idle in their shops in absence of customers.
A dealer can sell 1,000 kgs of rice in a day, six days a week, while one can buy highest five kgs of rice from the OMS shops.
Wajed Ali, an OMS dealer of Palashi Bazar, told The Daily Star that he purchased 2,000 kg rice for his shop on Wednesday morning but he could sell only 100 kg on Wednesday and Thursday.
"This is totally unexpected. Last year we became tired within an hour of opening sale every day. But we do not see any rush of customers," he said.
Small difference between prices of rice at OMS shops and kitchen markets and choice for finer varieties are the main reasons behind the poor sale here, he added.
Pias Costa, director general of Food Directorate, told The Daily Star yesterday that the sale of rice at OMS shops is low but it is satisfactory outside the capital.
"We are trying to find out the reason behind the poor sale in the capital," he said.
Meantime, the wholesales said the sale of fine and medium variety rice rose while consumption of coarse rice fell in the city.
Bhola Nath, manager of Janata Rice Agency at Babubazar, biggest rice wholesale market, observed that most customers have opted for finer varieties with the fall in rice prices.