Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder on Wednesday held some big business groups and traders responsible for hoarding rice and hiking prices of the staple, warning them of tough actions for the sake of keeping the market stable.
"The government has evidence that six big business groups and some traders, having no experience in paddy and rice trading, have been stockpiling rice," he told the reporters at his Secretariat office.
Even the owners of brick kilns and primary school teachers were found involved in hoarding rice, he said, adding that the opportunity seekers do not even have licences for rice trading.
He also pointed out that the consumers are also hoarding rice amid panic.
Besides, Mr Majumder said: "The rice that is usually sold at Tk 60-65 per kg has been priced by the big companies at Tk 80-90 per kg after packaging it."
These companies are also paying the millers in advance and sending their packets, he said, and informed that the government is keeping these millers under surveillance.
"If the companies want to sell rice in packets, they need to import it from abroad; the government is working on enacting a law in this regard," he added.
The minister's remarks came against the backdrop of several large corporate groups' entry into the rice market in the last few years.
He said there should not be any scarcity of rice as it is the peak harvesting season of rice.
As per a decision taken at the cabinet meeting, the government has launched a drive at rice and paddy warehouses at the district level.
The divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners have been instructed to submit a report within seven days on crop losses due to excessive rain and flooding, he mentioned.
If the government needs to open the border for rice import with reduced taxes, the government will go for it to give the dishonest traders a lesson, he added.
As on Wednesday, there were 1,258,530 tonnes of rice and paddy in stock, of which 1,123,090 tonnes are rice and 25,500 tonnes are paddy, according to the food ministry.
Meanwhile, on the day, the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) fined six rice traders Tk 0.27 million as they were allegedly selling rice at higher prices in different areas in the capital.
The DNCRP launched its drive on Tuesday, following the Prime Minister's order to prevent the steep price hike of the main staple in the local market.
The DNCRP on Wednesday conducted the drive on different rice shops at Mirpur-1, Kutubkhali and Kalapatti of old Dhaka.
"We will intensify and continue our drive against illegal hoarding of rice and unscrupulous traders," assistant director of DNCRP Md Abdul Jabbar Mondol told the FE.
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