Bangladesh is set to export 50,000 tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka after the cabinet committee on economic affairs yesterday approved a proposal in this regard.
“We have decided to export 50,000 tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka. Presently, we have sufficient stock. It will be a government-to-government arrangement,” Finance Minister A M A Muhith told newsmen after a meeting at the cabinet division in Dhaka.
“They asked us if we could export rice. Since we have friendly relations with Sri Lanka we decided to export the rice to Lanka,” he added.
Muhith said the two countries would soon finalise the per tonne price of rice.
Asked if the decision would have an adverse effect on the domestic price of rice, the finance minister said, “I think it will cause no problem”.
With the shipment commencing, the country will become a coarse rice exporter too as currently no rice exports, other than aromatic rice, has so far been permitted by the government.
Though Bangladesh is to export boiled rice (coarse variety), the country still imports a significant quantity of rice each year to meet its growing demand.
The ministry of commerce, through a statutory regulatory order (SRO) in June 2014, imposed a ban on export of all varieties of rice, except aromatic rice, until June, 2015.
The objective of the restriction was to help keep rice prices stable through ensuring its adequate supply in the domestic market.
Earlier, the ministry of food proposed to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, that existing restrictions on rice export be lifted following a request from the Sri Lankan government.
The Sri Lanka high commission in Dhaka, in a letter to the ministry of foreign affairs (MoFA), expressed the country’s interest to import rice from Bangladesh on an emergency basis.
The MoFA conveyed the matter to the food ministry for taking necessary steps.
The food ministry took the decision to export 50,000 tonnes of coarse rice to Sri Lanka, after considering the local food stock situation and the possible impact of the export on the local market.
Total food grains stock in the country presently stands at 1.49mn tonnes. Of this, rice accounts for 1.14mn tonnes, while wheat accounted for 340,000 tonnes and paddy 10,098 tonnes, according to the directorate of food.
In its proposal, the food ministry quoted $493 as price for a tonne of boiled rice. The rate includes shipment, insurance and transportation costs.
Increased domestic output of rice coupled with adequate official stock prompted the government to respond to Sri Lanka’s rice import offer, officials disclosed.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the country’s rice production was about 34.36mn tonnes in fiscal 2013-14, nearly 0.6mn tonnes higher than the previous financial year.
Despite the production growth, around 500,000 tonnes of rice were imported by the country’s private sector in the last fiscal.
