The implementation of the Mandatory Jute Packaging Act 2010 has hiked the price of rice by around Tk1 per Kg.
Rice millers are now charging an additional Tk40-60 for a 50kg rice sack, depending on the quality of jute sacks.
On November 30 last year, the government implemented the jute packaging act, forcing millers to use jute sacks instated of plastic sacks priced at Tk12-16 each.
“We now add the price of jute sacks to the price of rice, which is why there has been a small hike in the price of rice,” said Nirod Baran Saha, convener of Naogaon Rice Millers Association, adding that millers had begun using jute sacks as per the instruction of the government.
To promote the country’s jute sector, the government in January 2014 enacted the jute packaging act, which makes the use of jute for all kinds of packaging mandatory.
According to the law, paddy, rice, wheat, maze, fertiliser and sugar must be packaged in jute bags. Violators will be subjected to a maximum of one-year prison term or a fine of Tk50,000, and both for using non-degradable synthetics to package commodities.
According to the Department of Agricultural Marketing, the price of coarse rice in wholesale market was Tk26.50 per kg yesterday. This means the price of 50 kilogrammes of rice should be Tk1,325.
But wholesale traders charged Tk1,400 or more for a 50kg rice sack by adding the additional price of the sack.
Md Shahidullah, owner of Dhaka Rice Agency who has an outlet at Karwan Bazar in the capital, told the Dhaka Tribune sellers had to charge the extra money as they themselves had paid for sacks while buying rice.
Nirod said the country is now enjoying food surpluses because of surplus in domestic production and a big volume of import of rice from India last year.
“This has brought down the price of rice at an affordable level. But when stocks will shrink in April or May, prices may go up and the additional price of sacks will make consumers unhappy,” he added.
As of January 20, the government procured 70,782 tonnes of Aman rice. Procurement began on December 15 last year and will continue till March 15.
Meanwhile, the government’s food reserve stands at around 1.515 million tonnes, up from 1.283 million tonnes last year.
