Staff Reporter :
The country’s businessmen have said that the rice price will go down by Tk two to three in the next few days.
They said this after a meeting with the government on Tuesday at the food ministry.
The business leaders and the government reached a consensus over the issue in the meeting.
According to the business leaders, the government agreed to allow use of plastic bags and to help quicken release of rice-carrying trucks stuck at land ports.
Rice Millers Association General Secretary AKM Layek Ali said that the government accepted their demands. “The rice price will go down by Tk 2-3 in the next few days.”
At the beginning of the meeting, the ministers called upon the traders and rice mill owners to extend their cooperation to the government by bringing down price of rice within purchasing capacity of people.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury and Food Minister Qamrul Islam came up with the call equivocally during the meeting held with traders at secretariat.
It will not be wise to increase rice price by creating artificial crisis in the market and the traders should help the government by bringing down the price of rice, they said. In the meeting, Tofail Ahmed said that a rumour that India has stopped exporting rice to Bangladesh has increased the price of rice.
“It is evident that the price of rice must be reduced,” Tofail said urging the rice traders not to plunge the people into troubles by creating artificial crisis in the market for extra profit illegally.
Expressing grave concern over the skyrocketing price spiral of rice, Qamrul Islam said such type of crisis has been created for the first time in the country’s history. “There is no shortage of rice in the country. Then why did the price of rice go up,” Qamrul asked the rice traders.
“It is nothing but an artificial crisis,” Qamrul said pointing finger at the traders.
The rice traders denied the allegation by presenting several causes behind the hike of rice price in the market. They also placed some demands including use of plastic sacks instead of jute one to import rice for at least three months.
At one point, Bangladesh Auto-Major and Husking Mill Owners Association President Abdur Rashid assured the government that they will try their level best to bring down the rice price immediately.
