Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder has urged the country’s corporate traders to refrain from creating illegal stockpiles going beyond capacity through competitive purchasing of paddy from the market.

“No one will be spared if the stockpile of paddy is built illegally,” Majumdar sounded the note of caution after emerging from a meeting with the representatives of some corporate houses at his ministry office in Dhaka on Monday.

The representatives of City Group, Square, Pran RFL, Meghna Group, ACI and Akij Essentials participated in the meeting, said a press release of the ministry this evening.

“I sat with millers earlier and they blamed you (corporate traders) for indulgence in competitive purchasing of paddy and subsequent building of stockpiles. I want to know the facts,” said the food minister.  

The corporate organisations add extra value to their products and sell in the market at higher rates, engaging in a competition to acquire paddy for stockpiling that creates a major impact in the market, he said.

Subsequently, other traders are compelled to purchase paddy at an inflated rate, which is an inauspicious trend for the market, said the minister.

“We see rice is available in the market under various brand names mentioning the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) but we want the mill-gate price to be written as well so that the traders cannot increase the prices illegally,” he said.

Responding to the call, the representatives assured the minister of writing the mill-gate price of rice and extending their all-out support to the government to keep the rice market under control.