Rice prices have increased by Tk 3 to Tk 5 per kilogramme across all categories over the past month, despite the recent Boro harvest and continuing imports of the staple grain.
Prices of different rice varieties have increased by Tk 3-Tk 5 per kg in the capital over the last two weeks even though the country is in the middle of the harvesting season.
As of the first week of March, the private sector had imported only 2.63 lakh tonnes of rice against the approved 16.75 lakh tonnes
The prices of almost all varieties of rice have been increasing over the past three weeks, despite the withdrawal of import duties and the inflow of rice imports.
Prices of almost all varieties of rice have gone up in the capital’s kitchen markets over the last one week.
Indian farmers have planted 39.8 million hectares (98.3 million acres) with rice, up 3.7 percent on the same period last year, farm ministry data showed on Friday, as record high prices prompted farmers to expand the area.
Abdul Wahab, a security guard at an ATM booth of a private bank in the capital, works 16 hours a day.
Expressing resentment over the hike in rice prices despite high yields of paddy, the parliamentary standing committee on agriculture ministry yesterday asked senior officials of the agriculture ministry to identify and take action against those responsible.
Bangladesh made gains in food production and ensured the availability of rice in recent years. But surging inflation, erratic weather, and the Russia-Ukraine war affected the availability of cereals and reduced low-income people’s access to food this year.
Tofayel Alam has been facing economic hardship with the rice price skyrocketing these days.
In a desperate bid to stabilise rice price, the government has decided to further reduce the duty on import of the staple and strike a deal with Thailand to buy rice.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed tells the parliament that rice price will be declined by Tk 6 per kilogramme as the import duty on it has been reduced.
