Intermediaries like millers and traders profit from an inflated rice market near the conclusion of the Boro crop, while farmers and consumers lose out.Insiders say paddy and rice prices have soared in the growing centers since the Boro season ended, and millers and dealers are on the search for a monopoly on the staple market.In the recent three days, wholesale has impacted city retails by Tk 2.00-3.00 per kg.
According to traders and mill owners in Rangpur, Dinajpur, Naogaon, Joypurhat, Rajshahi, Kushtia, and Jashore, rice prices have climbed by Tk 6.00-8.00 a kilogram in the last one and a half weeks, while paddy prices have grown by Tk 5.00-6.00 a kg in seven days.Millers at Rangpur, Dinajpur, and Kushtia mills were wholesaling seasonal new hybrid rice at Tk 41-Tk 42, BRRI dhan 28 Tk 53-Tk 54, BRRI dhan 29 Tk 50-51, and Jeera/Minikit Tk 63-To 64 per kg. According to grocers, the same varieties cost Tk 50-52, Tk 55-To 60, and Tk 68-80 per kilogram in Dhaka.
Last Monday, ‘paddy’ prices began to rise as the crop left the hands of the majority of farmers in the rice-bowl districts. Hybrid coarse paddy prices increased to a high of Tk 24 per kilogram (Tk 1800 per 75kg sack) from a low of Tk 1450 a week ago.According to Bangladesh Auto Major Husking Mill Owners Association (BAMHMOA)., the price of BRRI dhan 28 paddy climbed to Tk 30.5 per kg, BRRI dhan 29 to Tk 28 per kg, and Jeera paddy to Tk 37 per kg in the northern, northwestern, and southwestern areas.
