The cost of transporting rice from Kushtia, the largest supplier of the staple food, to Dhaka increased by at least 22 percent per truck, leading to an increase in the price of rice by 12 Tk per 50 kg bag, traders and mill owners mentioned.

Supplies fell during the three-day transport strike, said Siddiqur Rahman, a wholesaler at Karwan Bazaar in Dhaka, on Sunday. Rice prices increased by Tk 50 per bag after the cessation of imports from India. Now prices will go up to Tk 15 per bag if additional transport costs are factored in, the trader said.

Mohammad Rasel of the Janata Rice Agency said that only Rashid Rice Mill supplied rice to Dhaka in the middle of the strike with his own trucks, but charged Tk 3,000 more than the usual Tk 14,000 for transport costs.

Although the market is currently stable in the middle of Aman’s harvest season, rising fuel prices will lead to a shortage of supply within a day or two, Rasel fears.

In Mirpur, retailers were selling quality rice varieties at Tk 57 to Tk 64 per kg, standard medium rice at Tk 48 to Tk 54, and coarse rice at Tk 44 to Tk 50.

According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh or TCB, rice prices rose about 15 percent in one year through August.

Retail prices did not rise during the strike, but supply fell in wholesale markets, a Pirerbagh retailer said. “Prices will increase slightly due to the supply crisis,” he said.

The import of rice from India with special permission from the government stopped a week ago, but the good news is that markets in rural areas are expecting a supply of paddy from the early harvest soon. ‘Aman.

Owners and transport workers began the strike on Friday. Bus operators called off the strike on Sunday after authorities agreed to increase fares by 27%.

But the Bangladesh Truck Truck, Covered Van and Tanker Lorry Prime Movers Owners and Workers Coordinating Council have decided to continue their transport strike to demand a reversal of the rise in diesel prices.

Mohiuddin Harun, a wholesaler for Shah Ali in Mirpur, said he ordered a truck of rice from Rashid Rice Mill on Sunday after the lack of supplies during the strike. “They increased the cost of transport by 3,000 Tk. This will affect retail prices.

He sells Miniket rice between Tk 2,750 and Tk 2,850 per bag, BR-28 2,120 Tk at 2,250 Tk, Paijam Tk 2,250-2,300 Tk, Indian Paijam Tk 2,100 and coarse IRRI at 1,900 Tk.

Hundreds of trucks have been stranded in Khajanagar in Kushtia, Bangladesh’s largest rice trading center, after owners called a strike. They left on Saturday morning. Workers loaded trucks with rice on Sunday to be shipped later that night.

Arshad Ali Prodhan, owner of Dada Auto Rice Mill in Khajanagar, said the plant’s supply fell to around 20 tonnes per day, from 100 tonnes due to the transport crisis.

The cost of transporting paddy has also increased by 1,000 Tk per tonne, he said, alluding to an increase in the price of rice at his mill.

A rise in rice prices by millers was reflected in the words of Abdus Samad, president of the District Rice Mill Owners Association. “I supplied rice from previous orders. Prices will be readjusted with freight charges at both ends in new orders.

Kabil Agro Mill in Khajanagar sold Miniket rice at 1,410 Tk per 25 kg bag, Basmoti Tk 1,630, Katari Tk 1,425 and Kajallata Tk 1,270.