Govt goes tough on rice hoarders

The government has launched a drive against rice hoarding to curb soaring prices at retail markets.

The plan to launch the drive was taken as the price of rice had gone up by Tk2-Tk3 per kilogramme over the last three days.

The Food Ministry started the drives on Tuesday to stop illegal hoarding of rice across the country.

Food Ministry’s Additional Secretary Mojibur Rahman told The Business Post that the high price of rice during the ongoing Boro season was unexpected.

“We have started conducting drives against illegal rice hoarders across the country to control the rice price,” he said

The Control of Essential Commodities Act, 1956 states how much stock can be kept at any stage and two orders were also issued in 2011 and 2021 in this regard. So, the drive will be conducted following the laws against hoarders.

According to the Food Ministry, a day after the Prime Minister’s instruction at the cabinet meeting, the ministry formed eight teams to carry out the drives across the country.

The members of the team will investigate whether anyone is causing an artificial crisis by illegally hoarding rice and will work to take legal action against them.

Apart from the eight teams, the drive will also be carried out by the district and upazila administration across the country.

The decisions were taken at a meeting chaired by Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder on Tuesday at his secretariat office in Dhaka.

It was also decided to send semi-official letters to the deputy commissioners (DC) and upazila nirbahi officers (UNO) as well as NSI, RAB and the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection to prevent illegal stockpiling of rice.

The Food Ministry also opened a control room and people were requested to inform them about illegal rice hoarding by making phone call on +88022233802113, 01790499942 and 01713003506.

Recently, the country’s rice market has suddenly become volatile even though the country is set to see bumper Boro production this season and farmers have already completed 94 per cent harvesting.

The rice prices have increased by Tk1-2 per kg at wholesale and retail markets over the past three days after the prices went up by Tk6-8 per kg at the milling hubs.

Wholesalers alleged that millers had slowed down supplies in a bid to push up the prices.