Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said that the government has already taken steps to keep rice prices stable to protect the interests of consumers. The market is being monitored, it will be further strengthened. Besides, the campaign against illegal hoarders will start soon.
He said this while addressing a meeting on ‘What to do to keep rice prices stable’ at his official residence in Dhaka on Thursday.
He said that rice is being imported officially and the issue of importing rice privately is in process. Calling on mill owners and traders to be humane towards consumers, he said no compromise would be made with profiteers and illegal stockers.
At the meeting, the senior secretary of the agriculture ministry said that human and non-human consumption of rice is taking place now. As a result demand is increasing and it must be taken into account. At the same time, he favored private rice imports to increase the supply of rice in the market.
Kushtia's Abdur Rashid, a representative of the mill owners, said the bumper crop of paddy has been harvested this year. Farmers have also got a fair price. Some individuals and organizations who are not involved in the rice business have illegally stockpiled paddy in the hope of making more profit. He said that action would be taken by identifying all these individuals and organizations through monitoring. At the same time, he requested to find out why the gap between the market price and the market price is increasing.
Anup Kumar Saha of ACI Limited, a business representative, said the price of rice is going up in Bangladesh due to higher prices. If the production cost of farmers is less, the price of rice will also go down. He noted that market monitoring would be easier if there were accurate statistics on the cost of production of agricultural products.
Food Secretary Dr Nazmanara Khanum, Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Director General of the Department of Consumer Protection Bablu Kumar Saha, Director General of the Department of Agricultural Marketing Mohammad Yusuf, Director General of the Department of Agricultural Extension Md Asadullah and Director General of the Department of Food Sheikh Mujibur Rahman spoke at the programme.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Food, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Commerce, mill owners and business leaders were present at the virtual meeting.