OMS of rice, flour starts in upazilas today

The government will start open market sale of rice and flour at upazila level from today.

Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said this while talking to the media about the high price of rice after attending a session at the deputy commissioners' conference in the capital's Osmani Memorial Auditorium yesterday.

He said the food ministry currently has a food stock of 20 lakh tonnes, which is the highest ever. Meanwhile, newly produced rice will hit the market in April. As a result, rice prices will soon be stable and normal, the minister added.

Over the last one month, retail prices of rice edged up as much as 6 percent in the capital. Yesterday, retail prices of medium-quality  grain were Tk 52-58 a kg, up from Tk 48-Tk 56 a month ago, data from the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh showed.

Explaining the reasons behind the price rise, Razzaque said, "Food prices have also sharply increased in the international market. Wheat prices, which were $230-280 per tonnes, have risen to $450."

"In the fiscal year 2020-21, 48 lakh tonnes of wheat were imported but only 16 lakh tonnes were imported until 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 flour price had always been lower than that of rice," he said.

At the same event, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said rice would be sold at Tk 30 a kg and flour at Tk 18 a kg through 1,776 dealers.