The fine rice used for cooking polao has seen a sudden fall in price by Tk10-15 per kilogram in a week due to "import and lower demand" in the market.
The price came down to Tk85-90 in the city's retailers from the last week's Tk95-100, which is a different sign from the usual trend of increase just before Eid. Fine rice in packets was being sold at Tk108-110.
According to traders, the supply of polao rice like chinigura has increased with import from neighbouring India and a relative decrease in demand, especially among the middle class people.
Observers said the coarse rice price hike might have discouraged the middle class consumers from buying polao rice in their usual amounts this year.
A fortnightly report by the government's Food Planning and Monitoring Unit showed the wholesale price of coarse rice in the city's retail market went up by 3.2% to Tk32 a kg.
"We usually face an increased demand before Eid. But this year the market is dull, and the price has gone down," said Shafiul Alam, a retailer of fine rice at Moulvibazar market in Dhaka.
He now hopes sales will increase again after Eid, when arrangement of marriage ceremonies is expected to go up after the Ramadan fasting.
A total of 300 fine rice mills are operating across the country. Presently, the country has a demand of fine rice of nearly 29,000 tonnes annually.
Wholesalers in the capital purchase fine rice mainly from millers from Noagoan, Kushtia, Dinajpur, Chaipainawabganj, Bogra and Rajshahi districts.
Nirod Barun Saha, president of Rice Dealers' Association of Naogaon said: "The sluggish demand and the import of Indian rice are responsible for price fall of fine rice."
Polao rice in different brand names is available in the market, which is becoming increasingly popular among the consumers.
Bangladesh's fine rice like basmati and chinigura was also being exported to different European and Middle Eastern countries, said the traders.
