Continuous heavy rainfall and floods in Chattogram and the hill tracts have damaged standing crops as well as farmers’ stored paddy and rice. Losses have been particularly heavy at the individual and business levels due to water entering warehouses. A large portion of the rice stock in the major wholesale markets of these areas has also been ruined. Locals fear that the rice market may see an upward trend as businesses try to recover these losses.
Chattogram and the three districts of the Chittagong Hill Tracts experienced the highest rainfall in four decades from July 7. Continuous heavy downpours and mountain runoffs increased water currents in the rivers, canals and streams beyond the hilly regions, inundating many coastal upazilas, unions and villages. As low-lying areas in 8-10 upazilas of Chattogram remained flooded for three to four consecutive days, water entered business establishments, mills and warehouses, causing massive damage.
Md Nasir Uddin from Katharia union in Banshkhali upazila said, “The paddy produced on our own farmland, as well as the paddy and rice stored for business purposes, has been ruined by floodwaters. Even though the newly harvested paddy was threshed and placed in the warehouse, water entered our locally built earthen godown, causing it to collapse. The water consequently washed away 150 maunds of paddy stored there. Despite forecasting heavy rain for this monsoon season, we couldn’t imagine that the floodwater level would rise this high.”
When asked, Mohammad Rafiqullah, president of the Chaktai Rice Mill Owners Association, told Bonik Barta, “Due to floods in various districts and upazilas of Chattogram and the Hill Tracts, agriculture and various other sectors have suffered losses. Despite not affecting all areas, water ruined paddy and rice stored in many mills and warehouses in coastal areas, as well as the flat markets near the hills. Being heavy goods, there was no opportunity to move them quickly. As a result, traders, farmers and wholesale merchants have incurred losses.” But he noted that the rice market remains stable for now due to a decrease in demand caused by the floods.
Floodwaters lingered the longest in the western unions of Banshkhali upazila, according to administration and local sources. Among them, Chonua, Shekherkhil, South Chambol, Shilkut, Gandamara, Saral, Baharchhara, Khankhanabad, Katharia and the western parts of West Puichhari unions along the Pukuria-Puichhari regional road suffered the worst flood damage. In these areas, water entered the warehouses of local markets and farmers in nearby villages, ruining the stored paddy and rice. Primarily due to barriers in these coastal areas that prevented floodwaters from receding quickly, agricultural products, including paddy and rice, were soaked and ruined. Locals also reported that because there are many earthen houses and warehouses in various unions of Banshkhali, the floodwaters collapsed them and washed away the stored paddy and rice.
Alongside Banshkhali, paddy and rice stored in warehouses were also ruined by mountain runoffs in various unions of Satkania upazila, Lohagara, Boalkhali, Hathazari upazila and several flatland markets in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. In particular, paddy and rice stocks were heavily damaged in warehouses located in markets along rivers and canals in Rangunia, Boalkhali, Raozan, Hathazari and Fatikchhari upazilas.
When asked, GM Faruk Hossain Patwary, the Regional Food Controller of Chattogram, told Bonik Barta, “Government food warehouses in the Chattogram region were secured against the floodwaters. Especially after the heavy rainfall on July 7, the entry points of the warehouses (totalling 40 large and small warehouses) were temporarily sealed with bricks and cement within a short time. The government food warehouses were also built at a slightly higher elevation than normal. So by creating barriers at the entrances before the flood and waterlogging occurred, major damage was averted. But I’ve heard that in remote upazilas and low-lying areas, floods and waterlogging caused water to enter private warehouses, damaging paddy and rice.”
Speaking with various warehouse owners and wholesalers at wholesale markets like Chaktai, Khatunganj and Pahartali in Chattogram, it was revealed that at the beginning of the monsoon season, traders take special measures to protect goods in their warehouses and depots. At one time, waterlogging in Chattogram caused massive damage to paddy and rice crops. Currently, due to the installation of sluice gates and regulators at various points along the Karnaphuli River under the waterlogging alleviation project, water did not remain trapped for long. For this reason, water did not enter the Khatunganj-Chaktai area along the riverbank, and paddy and rice were spared from damage. But they fear that the damage to paddy and rice in private warehouses across the upazila and markets in hilly areas could have a negative impact on the country’s overall rice market.
Zahir Uddin Sagar, proprietor of Messrs Roni Enterprise in Cox’s Bazar, told Bonik Barta, “A large portion of the rice stored in my warehouse was submerged in water. Since there was a lot of rice in the warehouse, there was nothing that could be done once the water entered. Now that the rain and floodwaters have receded, the waterlogged rice has been removed.” He mentioned that although attempts are being made to minimise losses by drying the wet rice somehow, it is not working out.
There are rice mills and warehouses in various upazilas of Chattogram adjacent to the hill districts. In particular, various unions in Rangunia upazila — such as Mariamnagar, Chandraghona Bazar, Rowazar Hat, Ichakhali, Shantirhat, Islampur, Ranirhat and Dhamoirhat — house mills and warehouses for paddy coming from the hill regions. Due to continuous rain, water entered the low-lying areas of these locations, destroying the stored paddy. Floodwaters also entered warehouses in both remote small and large markets across the hill districts during the recent floods, ruining paddy and rice. Specifically, in Farua Bazar and various markets in Bandarban, mountain runoffs caused floods and waterlogging that destroyed paddy and rice, driving up the prices in those areas.
When asked, Shahid Uddin, proprietor of Satata Rice Mill at Ranirhat Bazar in Rangamati, told Bonik Barta, “Despite collecting paddy produced in the plains of Rangamati, including Gumaibeel, we didn’t get the opportunity to sell it. This season, our warehouse stores not only our own paddy but also paddy belonging to traders. Water accumulated from the rain and ruined a good amount of paddy.” He fears that even after drying it in the sun, the quality of the paddy will drop, resulting in massive losses.
Wholesale traders state that following the suspension of imports, the market prices of paddy and rice have been on an upward trend across the country for several months. With the arrival of the new season’s paddy, there was an opportunity for prices to drop and stabilise. But due to the floods, paddy stored in warehouses suffered the heaviest damage in various areas of Chattogram and the Hill Districts. Consequently, even if prices may not rise nationwide, the price of rice has increased locally. Traders foresee a risk of instability in the country’s rice market once post-flood government and private relief operations come to an end.