Mustakim Ahmed, a private-sector employee in Dhaka's Joar Sahara, has gone to the market for polao rice almost every week for three months and come home without it: chinigura that cost Tk 140-150 a kilogram in June rose to Tk 160-170 in July and Tk 180 in September, and a kilogram of it now buys three kilograms of parboiled rice. Loose polao rice sells at Tk 110-180 depending on grade, packaged rice at Tk 220-230 and basmati at Tk 420-480 a kilogram, although the government's fixed price for polao rice this year was Tk 49 (Tk 48 last year). Over the past year loose and packaged prices have risen by Tk 70-80 a kilogram.

At Karwan Bazar loose chinigura sells at Tk 180 and katarivog at Tk 170-172; Akij's packaged chinigura costs Tk 220 and Pran's Tk 230. Fazlur Rahman of Barishal Traders said chinigura is now Tk 190 — Tk 110 six months ago, Tk 160 two months ago and Tk 90-100 a year ago — while katarivog is Tk 130 against Tk 70 a year ago. At Tejgaon Samity Bazar chinigura is Tk 200. Sales staff at Shwapno, Best Buy and Madol said kalijira has risen by Tk 25 in eight months to Tk 220, chinigura is Tk 215, Banglamoti up Tk 15 to Tk 110, Aroma and Akij basmati Tk 480 and local basmati Tk 420.

The Department of Agricultural Extension puts annual polao-rice output at 18-20 lakh tonnes, with exports averaging 10,000 tonnes (10,879 tonnes in 2019-20). Amir Hossain of Janapriya Rice Agency at Karwan Bazar said cultivation is small to begin with, large volumes go abroad every year, and demand for pitha and other dishes pushes prices; parboiled rice has held steady over three months while atap rice has risen Tk 20-30 a kilogram. AKM Khorshed Alam Khan, president of the Bangladesh Auto Rice Mill Owners Association, said a group is hoarding polao rice to sell dearer later and the government should stop exports entirely. Farhad Hossain Chakdar, general secretary of the Naogaon rice-mill owners' group, said approving 61,000 tonnes of exports in one go had tightened the market; exporting groups buy and stock heavily, and the Naogaon wholesale price touched Tk 200 before easing to Tk 185-190 on Monday.

Kamrul Hasan Chowdhury Bipu, secretary general of the Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association and owner of Nawabi Bhoj, said that after a year and a half of fuel shortages the doubling of polao-rice prices had cut restaurant polao sales by 30-40 percent, since menus cannot be repriced; millers say stocks are adequate, he said, but some are pushing prices up to force the government into importing from India.

Export Promotion Bureau data show aromatic rice going to more than 130 countries including the UK, Europe, the US, the UAE, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and South Korea; 129 firms exported 2,419 tonnes between 13 May and 30 August this year. To keep domestic supply and prices in check, a Ministry of Commerce Export-2 branch circular of 8 September halved the permitted export quantity; the ministry had earlier allowed 278 firms to export 45,270 tonnes in two rounds.

From a Protidiner Bangladesh report by Faruk Ahmad Arif. Source: Protidiner Bangladesh