The prices of some finer and medium rice varieties dropped slightly at mill gates in a couple of days which traders attributed to a recent duty cut on its import for the private sector.
Traders said prices of BRRI dhan-28, 29, Zira and Miniket declined by Tk 2.0-2.5 per kilogram at mill gates in Rangpur, Dinajpur, Nilphamari, Rajshahi and Pabna in last two days.
According to Bangladesh Auto Major Husking Mill Owners Association, BRRI dhan-28 price fell to Tk 46.5-48, BRRI dhan-29 to Tk 46-46.5, Zira and Miniket to Tk 54-Tk 57 a kg in Rangpur and parts of Rajshahi division.
But duty cut to 25.75 per cent from 62.5 per cent last week hardly could put any impact on the prices of coarse rice as import duty on this segment is still higher, said traders.
"Coarse rice is now trading at Tk 40-42 a kg at mill gates amid tight supply and considerably higher duty (25.75 per cent) on this segment," Md Anwar Hossain Babul, proprietor of Olima Traders in Nilphamari, said.
He said import costs of finer and medium rice, almost same varieties like local Boro harvest, might be Tk 44-Tk 47 a kg including duties and carrying costs which was prompting millers and big traders to release their stored rice in large volumes.
The cost of coarse rice will be Tk 40-41 a kg, considering current import costs of US$360-370 a tonne + import duties and carrying costs.
"The price is almost similar to the cost of domestic coarse rice. So, millers are not interested to review coarse rice prices now," he added.
Md Shahidul Patwary Mohon, a Dinajpur-based miller, said there is a shortage of coarse rice due to low production of such varieties during the Boro season.
Out of total Boro production, he said, coarse rice is hardly 20 per cent and most of which is purchased by the government.
Indian traders still have a good stock of coarse rice like Swarna, but duty should be revised further to help the consumers get rice below Tk 40 a kg, he added.
The government reduced import duty last week in a bid to cool down the prices in the domestic market which is 15-16 per cent higher now than that of a year ago, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
Rice prices remained stable in city's retail markets, maintaining their previous high as coarse rice was selling at Tk 50-52, medium at Tk 56-60 and finer at Tk 66-78 a kg depending on the varieties and quality, according to traders.
Reduced import duty on rice would remain in force until October 30 next, according to National Board of Revenue (NBR).
The food ministry might allow import of maximum 1.0 million tonnes of rice by their selected private importers to maintain a balance in the market both for the consumers and farmers, a ministry official said.
He said both the agriculture and food ministries have reached a consensus to put a cap on the volume of imports to help farmers get fair prices.
On the other hand, he said, a large volume of rice import might help consumers by minimising prices at retail level.
Jikrul Hoque, a Naogaon-based trader said: "Though prices of the staple are reasonable in the Indian market now, it would be tough to bring in 1.0 million tonnes of rice just in next two and a half months during this pandemic."
Smooth transportation is needed to import maximum rice within the timeframe through the land ports, he added.
Prof DrIsmat Ara Begum of Department of Agricultural Economics at Bangladesh Agricultural University told the FE that hike in rice prices during this pandemic has been hitting hard the commoners.
The government can reduce import duty further as it has already fixed the volume of import which hardly could affect the farmers in the Aman harvesting season, she said.
She suggested that the government's market operation through open market sale and other safety-net programs should be expanded largely to give millions of new poor some sort of relief when people's income has declined notably.
After a record import of 1.36 million tonnes in the last fiscal year, 0.18 million tonnes of rice have been imported through the government channel so far in the current fiscal year.
The government set a target to procure 1.9 million tonnes of grains but purchased nearly 1.4 million tonnes so far during its Boro procurement drive which will end today (Monday).
