Paddy and rice prices have turned down in Moulvibazar and Sreemangal. Consumers are relieved that rice is a little cheaper, but farmers are in trouble because paddy now sells for less than it costs to grow.

Traders put it down to weaker demand, larger rice stocks and slow trading. Paddy sales have slowed in several markets, and wholesale rice prices have eased somewhat.

'When prices fall there is nothing we can do. If we had storage, we could sell a few days later at a better price,' said Abdul Matin, a farmer in Kamalganj. Abdul Halim, an aman grower in Moulvibazar, said the yield was good but at current prices it is a struggle to recover costs. Farmers say land preparation, seed, fertiliser, pesticide, irrigation and labour have all become dearer, while paddy prices have not kept pace.

A rice trader at Sreemangal's Notun Bazar said wholesale rice prices have dipped because demand is lower. A wholesaler in Moulvibazar town said stocks had pushed rice prices down, but falling paddy prices hurt farmers most.

Md Jalal Uddin, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Moulvibazar, said making the market work better for farmers and adding storage are being discussed at various levels. Farmers and traders want regular market monitoring, a fair price that reflects production costs and a more effective government paddy procurement drive, and warn that long-running low prices could put farmers off planting next season.

Photo: Balaram Mahalder / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Source: Ittefaq