A rumour that Bangladesh will import rice from India has sent the paddy and rice market at Ashuganj into a sharp decline, leaving farmers and traders struggling with falling prices and weak demand.
Over the past week, paddy prices at one of the country’s largest grain trading hubs have fallen by Tk100-150 per maund, while rice prices have dropped by Tk250-300 per maund as millers slowed purchases amid expectations of further price declines.
The disruption has affected farmers from the haor regions of Kishoreganj, Netrokona, Sunamganj and Habiganj, who depend on Ashuganj as a major marketplace to sell their harvest.
The market downturn comes despite adequate paddy supply, with traders blaming uncertainty among millers and buyers over the future direction of rice prices.
Buyers retreat as prices slide
Ashuganj is a key trading centre for paddy produced across the north-eastern haor belt. Farmers and traders from Brahmanbaria, Kishoreganj, Netrokona, Sunamganj and Habiganj transport grain by boats to the market, which supplies more than 200 mills, including around 50 automatic drying units and over 150 rice mills.
According to local millers, the market usually handles 70,000-80,000 maunds of paddy daily. The rice produced from these mills is supplied to markets across Sylhet and Chattogram divisions and several districts under Dhaka division.
Traders said buying activity has slowed sharply after rumours spread that the Government of Bangladesh would import rice from India, prompting mill owners to reduce purchases.
As a result, paddy trading at the market has fallen by nearly half, creating pressure on prices and leaving farmers and traders with unsold stocks.
Milon Chandra Das, who brought paddy to the haat from Ashtagram in Kishoreganj, said, “I brought coarse paddy that I bought at Tk850 per maund. The market is offering Tk700. I haven’t been able to sell my paddy for three days. Our paddy is not being bought by the mill owners.”
Paddy trader Amir Hossain said on Monday, BR-28 variety paddy was trading at Tk1,150 per maund, BR-29 at Tk1,120, BR-39 and BR-49 at Tk1,100, and coarse paddy at Tk950. A week earlier, he said, coarse paddy had been selling at Tk1,050 per maund and fine paddy at Tk1,300 per maund.
According to the traders from Haor areas, the pressure has worsened after early floods and upstream water flows damaged crops in parts of the haor region. Farmers also alleged that they are not receiving the government-fixed fair price for paddy.
Mills struggle with unsold stocks
Hasan Imran, joint general secretary of the district Chatalkal Malik Samity, said producing rice from paddy is now loss-making, with no space left to store existing stock. He said every mill currently holds adequate stocks of both rice and paddy. Rice prices have crashed too, he said, falling by Tk200-300 per maund to a current Tk2,200-2,300, with no buyers even at this lower price, as everyone expects prices to fall further.
Md Shahjahan Siraj, president of the Ashuganj Upazila Chatalkal Samity, said “A group had destabilised the paddy-rice market at Ashuganj, one of the largest such markets in the eastern region, by spreading news that the government would import rice from India.
Mill owners claim to be holding large unsold rice stocks and fear imports would push prices down further, which is why they are avoiding paddy purchases from haor-region farmers and traders.” Thousands of maunds of paddy brought to Ashuganj are now stuck as a result, he added.
However, the Food Controller’s Office said the market disruption was driven by misinformation.
Nur Ali, assistant food controller at the Brahmanbaria Food Controller’s Office, said reports of rice imports from India through letters of credit were only rumours.
“Government monitoring of the market situation is ongoing,” he said.
The immediate challenge for Ashuganj is restoring confidence among buyers and sellers before the temporary market shock deepens into a wider crisis for farmers, traders and rice millers.
