AT a time when consumers are hit hard by high prices of rice, a section of government-appointed dealers allegedly sold rice, meant for Open Market Sale (OMS) programme, in the ordinary market. Despite assuring from rice millers to sell the staple at reduced rate by Tk 2-3 per kg on last Wednesday, the wholesale and retail market in the capital and elsewhere have seen no impact. Prices of the different varieties of rice sprung up as flood in the country’s West and North-West regions washed standing crops away. Taking the shortage as opportunity, a number of millers and wholesalers have hoarded rice for market manipulation while subsidized rice sale become a profiteering business to ruling party men. That is causing sufferings to the commoners.
News media reported that taking advantage of lax monitoring by food officials, some dealers has been selling tonnes of rice meant for OMS on black markets across the country. As the government fixes the price of OMS rice at Tk 30 a kg, just double the price of last year and around Tk 20 less than the current market price, the dealers are selling the cereal at wholesale market for making fortune. In Durgapur (Rajshahi) three OMS dealers has claimed that they sold rice in presence of Food officials but the local denied such OMS selling, as a daily reported.
The conundrum intensified when owners of warehouse hoarded rice for creating artificial crisis. In Chittagong, Mobile Court seized 4,000 tonnes of rice from a warehouse for hoarding the cereal for extended period on Thursday and fined another warehouse for stocking 2,154 sacks of rice illegally. The rice millers supportive to ruling regime in many areas increased the price of the basic food item. Mills owners are yet to cut the price of rice and wholesalers are waiting to see how much the price is reduced.
Despite decreasing the price of rice by mills owners, the consumers would not get benefit as wholesalers started to say that it will take time to finish their current stock. The country has struck in food insecurity due to flash flood from mid-July to September and Rohingya exodus, though fanatic effort to import rice to make market stabilize is on.
There is, perhaps, no second opinion that the main cause of this year’s food stuff shortage and gradual price rise – almost beyond the purchasing power of the marginalized groups as well as of the fixed income bracket consumers – is inefficiency, corruption and lack of grasping power of the Food Ministry bosses – political and bureaucratic – to foresee the possible scenario. They just failed utterly to handle the situation.
The millers and importers to wholesalers and retailers should be sensible to avail the staple at tolerable price for all. And the OMS programme should be monitored regularly to bring the government social safety program to the target group.
