Farmers get higher prices for fresh Boro paddy

Bangladeshi farmers are receiving higher prices for freshly harvested Boro paddy this season compared to the year prior, thanks to increased demand driving up market rates.

Farmers, traders, and millers say that the yield has been good this season and the rise in prices has been driven by increased demand for paddy at mills early in the season alongside high inflation and rising production costs.

Boro paddy accounts for nearly 55 percent of Bangladesh's yearly rice production and the season in Bangladesh typically runs from December to April.

The price of Boro paddy has increased by Tk 1.25 to Tk 1.79 per kilogramme (kg) this season compared to that last season, according to the national average price data of the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM).

In April this year, the price of fine Boro paddy rose to Tk 35.74 per kg, up from Tk 33.95 in the same month of 2024.

Meanwhile, medium-sized paddy experienced a slight increase in prices, from Tk 30.64 to Tk 30.89, while coarse rice went Tk 26.35 to Tk 27.60.

In the current season, Boro paddy has been cultivated on 50.69 lakh hectares of land, with the production target set at 2.26 crore tonnes, according to Department of Agricultural Extension data.

WHAT FARMERS ARE SAYING

Farmers from various districts where Boro cultivation is concentrated informed that paddy price ranged between Tk 840 and Tk 1,050 per maund (1 maund equals nearly 40 kg) this season.

Around this time last year, paddy was selling for Tk 770 to Tk 1,000 per maund, they added.

Tofayel Khan, a farmer from Dingapota Haor area in Mohanganj upazila of Netrokona district, said medium-sized Boro paddy was fetching Tk 1,020 to Tk 1,050 per maund this season, up from Tk 950 to Tk 1,000 last year.

He said the combination of higher market prices and good yields has brought him a good profit.

This season, he cultivated Boro paddy on 120 kathas (1 katha equals 720 square feet) of land, harvesting between 9 and 10 maunds per katha, he said, adding that 90 percent of the paddy had already been harvested.

Saidul Islam, another farmer from Ajmiriganj upazila in Habiganj district, said he made a good profit this season by selling Boro paddy at Tk 830 to Tk 840 per maund, up from Tk 770 to Tk 800 per maund last year.

He added that he cultivated Boro paddy on 40 kathas of land this season and has already harvested about 80 percent of the crop.

On the other hand, two farmers from Sunamganj and Brahmanbaria say that production has been better this season compared to that last year. However, they are getting lower prices than in the season prior.

WHAT MILLERS SAY

Mohammad Delowar Hossain, a rice miller of Netrokona district, said at the beginning of the last season, he bought medium-sized Boro paddy at Tk 1,050 per maund, and by the end of the season, the price had risen to Tk 1,350 per maund.

This season, he purchased paddy at Tk 1,150 per maund from the very beginning of the season.

As harvests began, all the mills started operating simultaneously, which increased demand and, consequently, pushed up prices because all the millers began buying paddy at the same time, he said

He added that prices were likely to rise further in two weeks when dried paddy enters the market.

The increase in the price of Boro paddy this season is due to high inflation, said Nirod Boron Saha, a rice miller and president of the Rice and Paddy Stockists and Wholesalers Association in Noagaon, a major rice wholesale hub in the north.

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, inflation has remained at over 9 percent since March 2023.

The overall inflation rate, including that for food and non-food, stood at 9.17 percent in April this year, down from 9.35 percent in March.

Chitta Majumder, managing director of the Majumder Group of Industries, a leading rice miller and importer, said last season, he bought Boro paddy from regions like Bogura, Naogaon, Natore, and Rajshahi at Tk 1,200 to Tk 1,300 per maund.

But this season, the price has risen to Tk 1,400 per maund, he said.

The increase in price is due to a rise in production costs. Additionally, some individuals tend to retain stocks, which has contributed to the price rise at the beginning of the season, he said.

Nasir-ud-Daulah, director general of the DAM, believed the increase in the price of Boro paddy this season compared to that last season was due to rising production costs and high inflation.

Coarse rice price rises 2 percent in a month

According to the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, prices of fine and medium-sized grains in Dhaka's retail markets have increased by about 1 percent over the past week.

Meanwhile, over the past month, prices of fine and medium-sized rice have risen by 0.64 percent to 1.90 percent.

On the other hand, over the past year, the prices of fine, medium-sized and coarse rice have gone up by 12.86 percent, 9.82 percent, and 2.88 percent, respectively.

Production outlook quite good this year

The price of Boro paddy, which was relatively high at the beginning of the season, has started to decline gradually due to a strong production outlook this year, said Jahangir Alam Khan, an agricultural economist.

If the outlook had been poor, prices would not have dropped, he said.

According to Khan, over half of the new Boro paddy across the country has already been harvested. Within the next week to 10 days, the harvest is expected to be completed, which will further increase market supply, he added.

As a result, rice prices are likely to fall even more, said Khan.

He also said the recent upward trend in retail rice prices resulted from significantly lower production than what had been targeted during the previous Aus and Aman seasons.

This mismatch between supply and demand has kept prices elevated, he said.

Khan pointed out that the government had anticipated a boost in supply by allowing rice imports, expecting that private importers would respond to the permits.

However, due to various factors, private importers did not bring in rice at the scale required to meet demand, he said.

To cover the production shortfall, the government approved the import of 16.75 lakh tonnes of rice by the private sector. Yet, as of mid-April this year, only 5.40 lakh tonnes had been imported.