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Coarse rice gets dearer Procurement starts

Shaheen Mollah
The price of coarse rice both at the wholesale and retail markets across the country has started increasing after the open market sale (OMS) programme ended Thursday with the procurement of rice and paddy starting from Friday.
The government has started procurement of rice at Tk22 a kg while paddy atTk 14.
In the wholesale markets in the capital, the prices of coarse rice increased by Tk 2.50-3 per kg in the last week while in retail markets byTk 2 per kg. There has been a similar impact on the prices of
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other varieties of rice in the city markets during the period.
Within last two days, the price of polao rice went up by Tk 13-15 per kg in the city's markets.
In the city's retail markets, per kg coarse rice was sold at Tk 21-23 yesterday compared to Tk 19-21 last week while Tk 18.50-21.50 per kg in the wholesale market compared toTkl5-18aweekback.
In Mohammadpur Krishi Market (wholesale rice market) Ekota Rice Agency manager Masud Rana said "The prices of old rice and newly harvested rice have gone up in the markets in rural areas. The polao rice that they sold forTk 50 per kg two days back had to be sold for Tk 64 yesterday as its supply from Chapainawabganj came down drastically within last four days.”
Nizamuddin, general secretary of Dhaka's biggest rice wholesale market Babubazar and Badamtali, said when the government wanted market price of rice to fall it happened so but now the price is going up as the government wants so.
He said, since the government has fixed the rate at Tk 22 per kg, the sellers also have hiked the price of new rice, which is arriving in the market but it would not be clear before about one week what the trend of rice price will be as the price in Dhaka will depend on supply.
Nizamuddin said the price of paddy increased by Tk 70-100 per maund (37.32 kg) in the rural markets over the last five days.
New paddy has started arriving in different mufassal (rural) markets. Those whose paddy are still in the croplands
are observing the market trend though farmers have expressed overall satisfaction over tire price of the rice in tire market, sources said.
Pius Costa, director general of food directorate, told The Daily Star that there were over 5.500 QMS dealers throughout the country. Every dealer had a target of selling 1,000 kg rice every day, six days a week but they did not get favourable response even after lowering of the price by Tk 2 per kg.