Empirical estimation of producer and trader level stocks of rice in Bangladesh: A methodological review

A reasonably good estimate of the private stocks of food grain over time at producer and trader levels is necessary for proper formulation and implementation of public policies on domestic food grain procurement, import and disposal.Literature on food grain marketing in Bangladesh is very thin compared to those on food grain production. Few studies that were conducted on food grain marketing addressed questions of the extent of marketed surplus, extent of competition and efficiency in the market, the degree of market integration and informational inefficiency, and the role of pre-harvest credit on marketing behaviour of producers. The aspect that has been scantily covered in marketing studies is the estimation of private grain storage or stock at a point in time at producer and trader levels, and how private and public stocks interacted to influence food grain market. In this paper, available literature is reviewed with a focus on the methodologies used to estimate private stock in order to identify gaps, and make recommendations to overcome them.