Bangladesh plans to introduce three-layer monitoring to curb rice prices

The government is planning to launch a website that discloses price information on the rice market at three stages to regulate prices.

Food Minister Md Sadhan Chandra Majumder disclosed the plan at a discussion organised by the BSRF journalist group at the Secretariat on Tuesday.

Millers will use the site to announce the rice price at the mill gate, wholesalers will announce the price at markets and retailers will announce the price at shops. "In this way, the price of rice can be regulated," the minister said.

The market for rice has grown unstable because a group of traders are taking advantage of certain situations, according to the minister.

In accordance with the recent rise in oil prices, the price of rice was to go up Tk 1 per kg at most, but the price instead rose as much as Tk 8 per kg, the minister said.

Millers claim the price at the mill gates has stayed the same and no one else has owned up to raising the price. "Under these circumstances, how did prices rise?" the minister said.

“The truth is, some traders like the instability and current state of the market. It is the instability that is causing issues.”

The government will distribute two tonnes of wholemeal flour through OMS dealers at all districts and city corporations a day in October to help bring food prices under control, he said.

“There will be no issues with wheat,” the food minister said. “Wheat is coming. From Oct 1, we will allocate 1 tonne of wheat to every dealer at the district level. We are considering whether to package it. If we do, it will raise the price, but it will still be half the market price. We hope this will halt black market sales. The current food stock in the country means there is no chance of a disaster. But we are importing rice and wheat with the future in mind.”