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Rice prices are likely to decrease in the coming months, according to a report by General Economics Division (GED) of Bangladesh Planning Commission.

The GED's Monthly Economic Update and Outlook report for September noted that rice inflation has kept prices above double digits since December 2024, reaching 15.52 percent in June this year.

Inflation for coarse, medium, and fine rice, the three categories based on grain size and shape, stood at over 15 percent for three consecutive months.

However, only medium rice was recorded at 13.95 percent in August, slightly lower than 15.32 percent in July.

Although higher yields of Boro season paddy, which accounts for over half of Bangladesh's annual rice output, since June had raised expectations of a drop in prices, the market did not reflect the improvement.

The GED observed that the government could have acted faster if real-time monitoring of production, demand, and stock had been available. Efforts, however, were taken in late July to address the market situation.

According to the food ministry, the government procured a total of 1.7 million tonnes of Boro paddy and rice this year.

As of September 17, the government's grain collection stood at 1.82 million tonnes, including 1.72 million tonnes of rice, 81,711 tonnes of wheat, and 19,533 tonnes of paddy.

In August, the government approved the duty-free import of half a million tonnes of rice to stabilise the market.

Private importers began bringing in consignments from August 12.

On the distribution side, 5.74 lakh tonnes of rice were distributed between July 1 and September 11 this year, which is significantly higher than the 3.10 lakh tonnes of the same period of 2024.

These developments, the GED said, suggest that rice prices may ease in the coming months if no major supply-side disruptions occur. 

Source : thedailystar