Staff Reporter :
The Food Ministry has instructed authorities concerned to ensure that the corporate organizations, who have not own mills, cannot deal in paddy and rice.
No negligence of the officials concerned will be tolerated in Boro paddy procurement.
However, the food department, local administration and Vokta have conducted nationwide raid against rice hoarders on Thursday.
They raided ware houses of rice in Dhaka’s Savar, Chattaogram, Bogura, Bagerhat and Chandpur and fined some traders for hoarding rice illegally.
“Big corporate houses are purchasing paddy from the local markets. Monitoring must be beefed up so that companies that do not have their own rice mills cannot take part in this business,” Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said on Thursday during a virtual view-exchange meeting on internal procurement and market monitoring in Boro season 2022.
A section is spreading misleading information about the food shortage, the Minister said adding that there is no chance of food shortage in Bangladesh.
“Several teams are conducting nationwide drives against hoarding and it will be intensified further if needed,” he added.
Addressing the Directorate General of Food officials, Sadhan Chandra said that emphasis should be given on issuing and renewing food grain licenses.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Food Minister said that the government will not allow the packaging of rice for sale after it is purchased from the open market.
He also blamed six major industrial groups — Square Group, Pran Group, City Group, Akij Group, Bashundhara Group, and ACI Group — for the sudden rise in rice prices in the country’s market.
According to the Minister, “We need to ensure that no one can do business without a license or cannot hoard. Necessary action must be taken against hoarders in accordance with the Special Powers Act, 1974.”
The government procures rice for two reasons – to ensure that farmers get a fair price for their crops and to ensure national food security, he said.
“Food department officials need to work to make Boro paddy collection a success. No negligence will be tolerated,” the Food Minister warned.
While instructing not to misbehave with anyone when collecting paddy, the minister said that the quality of rice cannot be compromised.
The minister said prices of rice and wheat have started falling in neighbouring countries, who are now sending letters for exporting those grains.
The market must be kept steady. If necessary, rice will be imported by reducing the import tax, Sadhan Chandra Majumder added.
Speaking to journalists at the secretariat, the minister alleged that some corporate houses are involved in controlling the rice market amid soaring prices of the commodity.
