Bangladesh will import 2 lakh tonnes of rice from India

28-Dec-2024 01:41 PM

The interim government of Bangladesh has initiated the import of rice from India, with the first shipment of 27,000 tonnes of rice arriving at Chittagong port as part of an agreement to import a total of 200,000 tonnes.

Although Bangladesh does not face an immediate rice shortage, the country is preparing for a potential decline in rice production due to the damage caused by floods and heavy rains to the paddy crops.

This could lead to a shortage in the coming months. To address this, the government has decided to import 200,000 tonnes of Sela rice from India, in addition to 100,000 tonnes through global tenders.

There are also plans to increase rice imports from India through government-to-government agreements.

In a move to stabilize rice prices and ensure sufficient supply, Bangladesh has lifted all controls, restrictions, and customs duties on rice imports.

This policy change has encouraged private traders in Bangladesh to import rice from India, with permission granted for them to bring in around 1.6 million tonnes. This suggests a potential rice supply crisis in the future if production fails to meet demand.