Chittagong, Bangladesh: Over 300 rice mill workers, most of them women have lost their jobs in Bangladesh, as many traders are importing rice from Burma at cheaper prices, according to a correspondent from Satkhira.

Following which, many millers have stopped operating their mills allegedly due to loss from falling paddy prices in Satkhira district. At least 21 auto-rice mills in Sadar upazila have been closed.  It is a big paddy market in the district.

It has been learnt that over 3,000 to 5,000 bags of paddy used to be sold in this market daily.

Before the parliamentary pools, a 60 kg bag of paddy was sold at Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,300 which is now between Tk 800 to Tk 1,100.

A mill owner Zamal said that the mills absorbed around 6,000 bags of paddy a day for husking, but now farmers are not coming to the market with paddy as prices have fallen.

Many farmers also said that the paddy prices are below their production cost.

In Chittagong, a kg of rice imported from Burma is being sold at Tk 20 per kg in the open market, while it was Tk 28 per kg earlier.

On January 1 to 12, about 27,000 rice bags laden in two ships arrived at Teknaf land port from Burma through Hashim Company of Teknaf. About 200 laborers unloaded the rice bags. As a result in Arakan State, the price of rice is going to shoot up. Currently, a kg of rice is being sold at kyat 450 at Maungdaw, said a man from Teknaf.