Declining rice import cost hardly benefits consumers

Consumers are hardly getting any relief despite a notable decline in import costs of rice, lately.

The greed for reaping undue profits by the wholesalers and retailers has kept the prices of rice, particularly that of coarse varieties, still at a very high level.

Meanwhile, the volume of rice import is likely to be all-time high during the current fiscal year (FY 2017-18).

A substantial gap between the prices of rice at the importers' and retailers' level, particularly in the case of coarse varieties of the staple is there, market watchers said.

Import cost of Swarna, a coarse and popular variety, is now Tk 36.0 to Tk 36.5 a kilogramme (kg). The cost is inclusive of 2.0 per cent import duty and expenditure on transportation. The importers are marketing the variety at Tk 37-Tk 38 a kg. But Swarna is being traded at Tk 44-Tk 46 at the wholesale level and at Tk 46-Tk 52 a kg at the retailers' level, according to trading sources.

Similarly, importers are selling another medium variety of rice, called, Ratna (the variety known as Birridhan-28 in Bangladesh), and imported from India, to wholesalers of Dhaka and others areas of the country at Tk 42-Tk 43 a kg. But the same is being sold at Tk 50-Tk 52 a kg at wholesale and at Tk 54 and Tk 58 at the retail level.

Rice prices declined to some extent in October following higher imports, but the same are still maintaining a very high level. The price of coarse rice was Tk 33-Tk 35 per kg in January this year, TCB data showed.

Rice import by the private sector increased to 1.04 million tonnes just in four months of this FY compared to that of 0.133 million tonnes in the whole 2017 fiscal, food ministry data showed.

However, the government has so far imported 0.401 million tonnes of rice against its target of 1.6 million tonnes.

Md Sarwar Alam Kajal, a North Bengal-based importer, said the private sector could be able to import around 1.5 million tonnes of rice if the prices remained stable in India and other Asian rice exporting countries throughout the current fiscal year.

He said import cost of Swarna was US$ 418-$ 430 a tonne including 2 per cent import duty at the end of October.

The food ministry data showed that rice import price from key global sources may be between $372 and $ 405 a tonne in November.

Mr Kajol said total import cost for Swarna is now Tk 36-Tk 36.5 a kg inclusive of all costs. The cost was Tk 45-Tk 46 in August-September last.

He said Indian Ratna (Brridhan-28 produced by Indian farmers) rice is imported at Tk 40-Tk 41 a kg which was Tk 49-Tk 50 a kg in August-September.

Mohammad Asadullah, a Babubazar-based trader, said it costs them Tk 41 for Swarna now including transport and other charges. He said many of the traders have stocks of old rice.

"Prices of rice might decline further at the wholesale within few days after stocks of old rice end," he said.

This fiscal year rice import will surpass past record of 1.492 million tonnes (FY'15) within next few days, according to sector insiders.

Rice import might hit an all-time high of 3.0 million tonnes at the end of the current fiscal year, they predicted.

Bangladesh witnessed two spells of flooding this year which have taken its toll on rice production as yield declined by nearly 1.5 million tonnes in the Boro season while Aman production is likely to fall due to inundation and late-plantation of the crop, according to government and private statistics.

Sources said the government has a target to import 1.6 million tonnes of rice of which more than 1.0 million tonnes might be brought in by this FY.

According to DGoF, 0.15 million tonnes of parboiled rice will be imported from Thailand at a cost of $ 465 a tonne (above Tk 38.0 a kg).

Another 0.1 million tonnes of parboiled rice will be bought by the private sector at a rate between Tk 43.7 and Tk 45.27 a kg, DGoF said.

Md Sabbir Ali Mian, a conductor of a human hauler told the FE that they are buying coarse rice Swarna at Tk 52 a kg now.

"Cost of rice for my five-member family was Tk 90 a day in the beginning of this year which is now Tk 130-Tk 135 a day when my wage is fixed at Tk 350 a day," he said.

Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) secretary Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan said price difference between import level and retails is 34-35 per cent for coarse rice.

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