Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said rice import duty may be brought down to 10 per cent in need to prevent the price volatility in the market.
The existing import duty on rice is nearly 62.5 per cent.
“Rice prices have been rising continually even though the country has produced a record volume of rice, imported a handsome amount of rice and also has 2.0 million tonnes of food in stock,” he told a view-exchange meeting titled ‘Illegal hoarding and initiative to prevent it’ at the Rajshahi Deputy Commissioner’s office on Monday.
“We are monitoring the situation at the field level to find out the reasons for this,” he said, adding that accurate information from the field level would be very useful in adopting an action plan on controlling the market volatility.
Indicating that illegal hoardings are leading to a rice price rise in the market, he called on food officials, district administrations, and traders, to come up with information about them so that the government can take action against them.
The food minister also asked food officials to verify rice mill stocks on a weekly basis and to check out information on rice grinding and supply on a regular basis.
Those representing millers at the views exchange meeting said no rice price rises have taken place at the mill gates for the last three months though the production and transportation costs of rice notably increased in recent months.
“Prices of rice have not increased at the mill gates for the last three months,” said Nirad Baran Saha, a Naogaon-based miller who is among those representing the region’s millers at the meeting. He added that rice prices have increased at the consumers' end as it reaches them after exchanging four to five hands.
Another rice millers’ representative Belal Hossain said hundreds of people started rice trading during the pandemic. They have been hoarding rice and paddy in large volumes creating an artificial shortage in the market.
He called on the government to strictly monitor the activities of such traders to prevent a further rise in rice prices.
Lawmaker Md Ain Uddin, Food Secretary Dr Mosammat Nazmanara Khanum, Director General of Food Directorate Md Sakhawat Hossain also spoke at the views exchange meeting organised by Rajshahi Divisional and District Administration with Divisional commissioner GSM Zafarullah in the chair.
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