Jumbangla Desk: Recently floods and heavy rains have caused extensive damage to Aman. This will result in less rice production than the target. Therefore, if the supply of rice in the country's market is not increased by importing, the concerned people think that there may be a food shortage. Details from the report by Kal Kantar-
Fear of food shortage if rice supply is not increased Rice prices in the retail market have increased since severe floods in the north-eastern part of the country affected Aman cultivation in August.
The interim government has taken steps to curb the rise in the price of rice as the yield of the country's second largest crop has declined. Efforts are being made to reduce tariffs to encourage imports and increase local stocks. Although the government has taken various steps to deal with the situation, the heat in the market is not reducing. The retail price of rice per kg has increased by 4 to 7 percent in the last one month.
A large part of the food expenditure of the poor goes to rice. Ordinary people are struggling to cope with the new increase in the price of rice.
According to the calculations of the Directorate of Agricultural Extension, from August 16 to October 15 this year, two rounds of floods occurred due to heavy rains and landslides in different districts of the country. This has disrupted the production of 839 thousand tons of rice.
To ensure food security in the country, the duty-tax on rice import was recently reduced from 62.5 to 25 percent. Despite this, traders are not showing much interest in importing rice at the private level. They say that if rice is imported, buyers will have to buy it at a higher price than the current market. Due to high prices, the traders of the country will not make profit either.
In this situation, the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTC) has recommended the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to completely remove the import duty on rice to bring relief to the consumers in the market.
The Food Department also says that the stock of rice in their warehouses is less than 1 million tons, which was about 1.45 million tons on August 15. Stocks are decreasing due to increase in government distribution. At the rate of rice allocation planned, there could be a shortfall of 1.1 million tonnes of rice by July next year. 10 lakh tonnes of rice needs to be imported considering safety stock and possible shortage. The private sector also needs to be encouraged to increase the import of rice.
The government marketing organization Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) reviewed the market price yesterday and a month ago, it was found that coarse rice (Bri-18 and Payzam) has increased by 6.96 percent in retail price per kg and is being sold from Tk 58 to Tk 65 in one month. Small rice (Miniket and Nazirshail) is being sold at Tk 70 to Tk 80 per kg with a price increase of 4.17 percent.
After visiting Karwan Bazar, Rampura, Badda and Joarsahara Bazar in the capital yesterday, it was seen that the prices of all types of rice have increased in the capital market in a month. According to the traders, the price of rice has increased due to increase in the price of paddy and reduced supply from rice mills.
Karwan Bazar Fatema rice agency businessman. Mahfuz Alam said yesterday, 'The rice market has been on the rise for several months. At the wholesale level, prices have increased several times in the last one month. This week too, the price per bag has increased by Tk 50. Now miniket rice is being sold at Tk 3,350 to Tk 3,500 per sack (50 kg) per bag. Coarse rice Bri-28 is being sold at Tk 3,000 to 3,000 25 per bag.
According to sources in the Ministry of Commerce, Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission sent a letter to NBR to increase imports after analyzing the international rice market on Tuesday. According to the letter, the government reduced the customs duty to 25 percent on October 20 in view of the possible shortage of rice. However, if rice is imported from Thailand at that reduced duty, the price will be Tk 92 to Tk 95 per kg. If imported from the neighboring country India, the price in the local market will be 75 to 78 taka. Importing rice at this price will cost more than the local market price. In this situation, the Tariff Commission feels that it is necessary to lift the duty of rice by 100% to make the import easier and to encourage the importers.
It is known that about 40 percent of the total rice produced in the country comes from Aman. The recent floods in various areas, including the food-surplus Mymensingh region, have destroyed large tracts of Aman paddy. Agricultural experts believe that this will affect the country's food security. Therefore, in such a situation, if the government does not take the initiative to increase the adequate supply of rice in the market at the right time, the concerned people fear that there may be a food crisis in the country.
Agricultural economist Dr. Jahangir Alam Khan said, 'There is an urgent need to import food from foreign countries as the production of mango is damaged. At the current rate of rice being sold in the international market, traders cannot make a profit with the import duty. Because of this, traders are not importing. Therefore, if the duty on the import of rice is completely removed, the traders will be encouraged to import. The supply of rice will also increase in the country's market. At the same time, the government should take the initiative to import rice through Jituji (government to government).
Golam Rahman, the former president of CAB, said, 'If rice is imported under duty-free facilities, the price of rice in the market will decrease slightly. However, the amount of import or the specified time should be fixed. Failure to do this will discourage the country's farmers. However , it will be better if the government can import rice transparently and sell it in the open market .
Director of Food Department. Moniruzzaman said, 'Rice production has been disrupted due to floods. We have written to the Ministry of Food to be forewarned about the increase in rice stocks. I hope the ministry will be proactive in this regard.'
According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data, about four crore tonnes of rice is produced in the country annually. Of this, about one and a half million tons is Aman. After three weeks, Aman rice can start coming to the market.
