DHAKA, Oct 11, 2021 (BSS) - Traders hoped that there is no possibility of

spiraling rice price immediately as the government's timely decision on rice
import in lower tariff helped keep the staple food price normal.

  The government took prompt decision of rice import as Boro paddy hoarding
by some quarters was witnessed due to its high price in June last,
contributing to shooting up rice price.

  After Boro harvesting, a number of growers, rice mill owners along with
some packaging industries, which don't have any own production, but to sell
packet rice using their company name, started stockpiling rice.

   A total of 13-14 packaging companies overnight entered the market and
procured huge amount of rice in high price that had an effect on rice price
in some cases said city traders.

  But, the time-fitting decision of the government played the main role in
reducing the rice price immediately, enabling people in heaving sigh of
relief, they added.

  They went on saying that from that time, rice price is stable despite the
price of some daily essentials items in city's kitchen markets has gone up a
bit.

  The medium quality rice like BRRI-28 and Swarna is being sold at Taka 43-44
per kg while it was Taka 47-48 per kg a month back in city market.

  The fine quality miniket rice is being sold at Taka 54 per kg, reducing by
at least 6 Taka.

  Retailers said currently, the rice is available in the market and the Aman
harvesting period also nears. So there is no chance of soaring rice price in
near future, they hoped.

  "A 50-kg sack of medium quality BRRI-28 rice is being sold at a price of
Taka 2,150 which was procured at Taka 2,350," said Abul Jalil, a proprietor
of SA Agro of Mirpur section-1 wholesale and retail rice market.

  But the government's rice importing decision was good, otherwise the common
people had to be suffered for soaring price, said another trader Bacchu Mia
of Kawran Bazar, a major rice trading hub in the city.

  "There is no chance of soaring rice price in near future as the second
largest crop aman harvesting will begin in the middle of the next month,"
said Lokman Mia, a rice wholesaler and retailer of Kawran bazaar kitchen
market.

  Seeking government intervention in curbing hoarding in the name of rice
packaging, Nirod Baran Saha, general secretary of Rice Arotder Samity, told
BSS today that the government should to frame an act on entrepreneurship of
packaging industries.

  Only two or three group of companies like ACI, Pran and City Agro were
involved in rice packaging with their own production, but the number of
packaging industries are increasing over the period, he said.

  The packaging industries expansion needs to be checked, he added.

  At the end of boro season, the arotder samity leader said usually rice
price remains high during this time, but the government's decision of rice
importing helped keep the rice price tolerable.

  The government has allowed 428 business firms to import 1,720,000 tons of
rice at a lower duty rate, aiming to keep the rice market stable in country.

  The food ministry gave the permission for import during August 17 to 30 and
informed the commerce ministry about it, said an official citing an
instruction.

  However, the importers were asked to market the imported rice by September
25.

  Besides, the imported rice cannot be repackaged using the name of importers
and the rice will have to be sold in plastic sacks, the instruction said.

   The ministry said: "If anyone fails to open LC in the stipulated time, the
permission will be cancelled."

  On August 12, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) issued a gazette
notification slashing the import tariff on rice to 25% from 62.5% to keep the
rice prices stable in the local market.

  The facility of lower import duty will remain effective till October 30.