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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | As Bangla imports surge, rice becomes costly -Abhishek Law & Pratim Ranjan Bose

As Bangla imports surge, rice becomes costly -Abhishek Law & Pratim Ranjan Bose

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published Published on Sep 19, 2017   modified Modified on Sep 19, 2017
-The Hindu Business Line

The prices of common rice varieties in West Bengal have increased by 10-20 per cent at the miller’s end in recent weeks. Bangladesh has imported 600,000 tonnes in the last five weeks

Kolkata:
Panic over potential foodgrain shortfall and opportunistic trading in Bangladesh have sent the price of rice soaring on both sides of the border.

Over the last three weeks, the price of common rice varieties in West Bengal increased by 10-20 per cent at the miller’s end. The price of Swarna has gone up from Rs. 22 a kg to Rs. 27 a kg, Ratna from Rs. 28 to Rs. 30 and Minikit from Rs. 32 to Rs. 35. Retail prices are Rs. 2 to Rs. 5 higher.

The buzz in the market is that prices will increase further after Durga Puja next week. Reason: The sudden rise in demand from Bangladesh, which reduced import duty from 28 per cent to 2 per cent in phases between June and August.

According to customs sources, approximately 2,300-2,400 tonnes of rice is exported to Bangladesh from West Bengal every day; taking the total to over 600,000 tonnes in the last four-five weeks. This is as much as the annual imports of Bangladeshi traders in 2014-15.

The intensity of trade can be understood from the fact that Bangladesh imported roughly 700,000 tonnes of rice in the whole of 2014-15. At least 230 trucks are crossing the Petrapole border, which hasn’t seen rice exports for nearly five years.

The rise in prices is yet to catch the attention of the West Bengal government. “We will assess the situation,” State Agriculture Minister Ashis Banerjee told BusinessLine.

Opportunistic trading

The most confusing part of the whole story is that despite such heavy imports, the price of rice continues to rise in Bangladesh. The price of Minikitrose by around 18 per cent from approximately Taka 55 a kg to Taka 65 a kg in the retail market, says Golam Mortoza, editor of Dhaka-based Sapthahik.

That is not all; Bangladesh’s media was abuzz last week with fictitious news of export restriction by India. The Sheikh Hasina government in Dhaka, however, was quick to describe the reports as “fabricated” and blame opportunistic trading for the crisis.

Please click here to read more.

The Hindu Business Line, 18 September, 2017, http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/bengal-rice-price/article9864062.ece?homepage=true


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