Amid the countrywide drives against illegal rice hoarding and trading across the country since Wednesday, the prices of the staple food on the local market remain high during this full harvesting season. The prices of both fine and coarse rice have gone up in the capital’s wholesale and retail markets in the last few days as elsewhere in the country. Over the last several months, prices of almost all the daily essentials such as edible oils, lentils, flour, powdered milk have increased. Besides, prices of many locally produced items, such as mustard oil, have also increased for no apparent reason. Reportedly, the prices of imported items have increased due to supply chain disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
There have been allegations that some big local companies are buying paddy in bulk and creating an imbalance in the market, thereby triggering the price hike. If that is indeed the case, the government must take strict action against these companies that are hoarding huge amounts of paddy for making extra profit, manipulating an already unstable market. In this manipulation, the food minister has specifically blamed six major industrial groups for the sudden rise in rice prices in the country. However, he said, the government is planning to restrict selling of packaged rice after its collection from the open market. He mentioned the names of Square Group, Pran Group, City Group, Akij Group, Bashundhara Group and ACI Group for the price hike, without elaborating.
Reportedly, lack of regulatory control has sparked a free-for-all of hoarding, as the current drive of the government has shown. The hoarders are ranging from large business groups to small traders to even local political leaders — who are not rice traders but all taking advantage of the situation. As a result, prices of rice have increased, despite there being an ample supply of this staple food in the market. We had earlier seen how traders and even local politicians hoarded large
amounts of edible oil in order to sell them later at higher prices. And we might be experiencing something similar in the case of rice, if the government cannot stop the hoarding and punish the hoarders.
We want to see immediate action taken against hoarders who have not rice mills but are the big hoarders manipulating the market for rice prices hike causing people to suffer. It is so frustrating to see that the government is useless for controlling corruption businesses. It is not ashamed of their incompetence in every sector. Still they see economic develop everywhere. The unscrupulous bureaucratic machinery is churning out false facts, it is efficient to do. Spending huge money on mega projects and allowing unfettered corruption is not development. The people’s unbearable miseries for the wastage of public money and burden of corruption should worry the government.
