Food office to examine stock of rice, paddy to tame rising prices
With the soaring prices of rice affecting the indegent, the food ministry has taken steps to evaluate the stock of food grain at millers and traders end.
Accordingly, the Directorate General of Food has asked its field offices to send reports on the stock of paddy, rice, wheat and flour by the end of millers and traders within five days, according to a notice issued on 24 August.
The initiative comes against the background of two contradicting scenarios: rice prices are spiralling at the same time when the agriculture ministry is saying production was good within the last Boro season and there will be no shortage of the meals.
The Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) estimates that farmers produced more than 2 crore tonnes of rice from Boro harvested in the April-June period and that there will be a lot more than 55 lakh tonnes of rice in surplus at the end of November after meeting the domestic requirement.
BRRI within its study that farmers held an increased stock of paddy.
"You want to understand the reasons behind the purchase price spike," Food Secretary Mosammat Nazmanara Khanum told The Daily Star over the telephone yesterday.
The prices began increasing nearly a week ago in Dhaka city, according to retail data published by the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
For instance, traders asked Tk 54-Tk 64 for each and every kilogram of fine grains sold as miniket or nazirshail, which is 5 % higher from per month earlier.
Coarse rice price increased 8 % to Tk 44-48 each kilogram yesterday from Tk 40-Tk 45 a month before, showed TCB data.
The prices of paddy and rice have been higher through the harvesting season because of millers' rush to get the grain following government's declaration of purchasing 800,000 tonnes of paddy and slow release of paddy by farmers, Khanum said.
The government could attain one-fourth of its target of shopping for paddy during the procurement season, which is set to end next week.
The prices 're going up at the same time when the public warehouses had 10.7 lakh tonnes of food on 24 August, down 32 % from a year earlier.
Khanum went on to cite the agriculture ministry's estimate of satisfactory production and ample supply of the grain on the market and said there's been no shortage of rice.
"We've no shortage of rice predicated on the estimate and our observation. Even from then on, the costs are increasing. You will find a grey area. It can be that farmers, millers don't have stock as much as we are assuming. There may be a gap somewhere," she added.
In its notice issued to the district food office, the meals ministry said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ordered the officials concerned to get reports on the stock of paddy, rice and wheat held by millers and traders to have a policy decision.
The meals office is yet to find anyone holding a sizable stock of grain, Khanum said.
"We also want to see if large companies are packaging rice in larger quantity and reducing supply in the market. We are analysing where we have to intervene," she said, adding that the government would import after analysing the problem and to generate discipline in the market.
Millers and traders earlier said crop losses for cyclone Amphan, recurrent floods and apprehensions over low yields of aman paddy for late plantation and food shortages for the coronavirus pandemic are fuelling rumours among growers, traders and millers that the way to obtain the food grain can be tight in the coming months.
And these factors are encouraging paddy to be stocked up and released slowly, said millers and traders.
Agriculture ministry recently estimated that flood damaged 32,000 hectares of Aus paddy crop and nearly 71,000 hectares of Aman paddy.
Farmers were harvesting paddy during the current Aus harvesting season. Your choice on the quantity of import will be studied based on the prospect of Aman, Khanum said.
Within the preparation, the meals ministry also asked its field office to furnish information on the necessity for rice for distribution among poor persons under the social safety net and other public food distribution programme between September and November this season.
Khanum said they want practically 900,000 tonnes of rice for distribution for three months.
She said the federal government might consider allowing the private sector to import rice if needed.
KM Layek Ali, general secretary of the Bangladesh Auto, Major and Husking Mills Association, welcomed the federal government move to determine the stock of foodgrains.
"We millers do not have that much stock. When there is a surplus, it's important to see who's holding that. The main point is that the grade of grains deteriorated due to bad weather during the harvesting season aside from the haor region."
This stock assessment is essential to see whether there is any surplus or shortage, he added.
A section of traders improve the prices whenever the stock of food grain at public warehouses decline, said Ghulam Rahman, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh.
The government ought to be increasing public stock by reducing import duty and increasing supply on the market through open market sales and other social back-up schemes.
As well, it will ensure punishment to wrongdoers.
"The spike in prices isn't expected at the moment when many persons have lost jobs and seen reduced income. Many self-employed have become jobless," he added.
