Power outages hit rice mills in Kushtia’s Khazanagar

Frequent power outages have disrupted rice production at Khazanagar, one of the country’s major rice-processing hubs in Kushtia, forcing millers to rely on generators which significantly increasing the operating costs.
Around 250 small, medium and large rice-processing units operate in Khazanagar and adjoining areas, receiving electricity from the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) and Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB).
Mill owners said mills are receiving electricity for only around five to six hours a day, disrupting different stages of rice processing. Many mills are using diesel-run generators to maintain production, while labours must be paid even during shutdowns.
The power shortage has also delayed the unloading and transportation of paddy, disrupting the supply chain.
However, millers have provided widely varying estimates of production losses. Some claimed production had fallen by 60–65%, while others estimated the decline at 38–40%. 
Abdus Samad, proprietor of Swarna Auto Rice Mill in Ballavpur, said his mill normally produces around 90 tonnes of rice a day but output had fallen to about 30 tonnes despite using a generator.
“Workers come to the mill but have to wait because there is no electricity. We still have to pay their wages even when there is no production. On top of that, we are incurring additional costs for diesel to run the generator,” he said.
Jihaduzzaman Ziku, owner of Golden Rice Mill, said production at his mill had declined by 60–65% in recent days. He added that interruptions during processing could damage paddy inside the machinery. Abdul Khaleque, managing director of Desh Agro Ltd, estimated the production disruption at around 38–40%.
Kushtia Palli Bidyut Samity said electricity supply in the district had remained significantly below demand for the past two to three weeks, resulting in scheduled load-shedding.
Mohammad Jahangir Alam, deputy general manager of Kushtia Palli Bidyut Samity, said the district’s electricity demand was around 180 megawatts, while supply had remained at only 40–50% of demand in recent weeks. However, supply rose to 135MW the previous evening, he said.
The power crisis has raised concerns among traders and millers that higher production costs could eventually push up rice prices. However, the actual impact on prices depends on several factors, including paddy prices, stock levels, labour costs, fuel expenses and mill-gate and wholesale prices.
Kushtia Deputy Commissioner Touhid Bin-Hasan said discussions had been held to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to rice mills. “We are trying to take prompt measures so that rice production does not face major disruption,” he said.
As Khazanagar is a major rice-processing and trading hub, prolonged disruption could affect supplies beyond Kushtia. However, mill-level production and cost data need to be verified before determining the extent of the losses or attributing any future rice price increase solely to the power crisis.