TDS Desk:

Prices of the most varieties of rice witnessed a shard fall in the city markets for the last two weeks and this trend is expected to continue till the next two months.

Market experts have attributed the declining trend of rice prices to the good harvest of Boro, one of the main paddy crops in Bangladesh.

While visiting city’s Kawran Bazaar and Mohammadpur Government Krishi Wholesale markets, it was found that the prices of all medium and coarse varieties of rice have declined up to Taka 3 per kilogram, compared to the prices a week ago.

Medium fine quality Miniket rice is being sold at Taka 66 per kg, which was sold at Taka 68 last week at the retail level.

At the wholesale market, the price of a 50-kg sack of Miniket rice is now being sold at Taka 3,215, down by Taka 287 from the previous price of Taka 3,500, said Morshed Alam, a wholesaler of Mohammadpur Government Krishi Market.

“The rice price is declining with a range of Taka 100-150 per 50-kg sack, on an average. The downward trend is likely to continue for one and a half months”, said he said.

Even the coarse variety ‘BR-28’ is being sold at Taka 52 per kg, down  by Taka 3, from the previous price of Taka 55. The price of per 50-kg sack has come down to Taka 2500 from the last week’s Taka 2730-2750].

About the current rice price, noted farm economist Dr Jahangir Alam said, “There is no chance to increase rice price in the next two months as the overall yield of Aman and Boro has crossed the optimum level.”

Dr Alam said that the rice price is likely to maintain falling trend in coming days as the good harvest of Boro is contributing 54 percent of the total rice output.

However, the lower rice price situation will not continue for a long period as the Boro yield in the haor area was although good, but the other areas across the country was not up to the mark due to prolonged drought”, said Nirod Baran Saha, general secretary of Rice Arotdar Samity.

The Arodar Samity leader said the Boro production witnessed a fall by three to five maunds in a bigha in different areas excepting the haor region and the haor area contributes only 13 percent of the total Boro output.

About Boro production, Badal Chandra Biswas, Director General (DG) of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) said, “We’re expecting optimum Boro production this year against the production target of 2.22 crore tonnes set for FY2 and the overall yield is standard”.

Data released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on the production of dry season crop Boro showed that the country bagged 2.07 crore tonnes of the staple grain during the Boro season in FY23, up 3 percent from the previous fiscal year.

Total rice production grew 2.5 percent year-on-year to 3.91 crore tonnes, the highest on record, in FY23. (Source: BSS)