By Xinhua
Dhaka : The caretaker government of Bangladesh Sunday opened a letter of credit to import 400,000 tons of rice at 430 U.S. dollars per ton from India, a senior official said.
“India will supply 100,000 tons of rice within a month and the rest within two months,” Food Secretary Mollah Wahiduzzaman told Xinhua Sunday.
Four state-owned Indian companies will supply the rice under an agreement signed by Bangladesh and India last month.
The government’s highest purchase body approved the import of 400,000 tons of rice from India on March 30, after weeks of protracted negotiations on the price by the officials of two countries.
The food secretary said Bangladesh has enough supply of rice and the new import of rice from India is aimed at beefing up its falling stock and put a lid on the soaring rice prices in the local market.
The government was keen to ensure the supply from India as most of the traditional rice exporters have already stopped shipment of rice, resulting in over 50 percent increase of rice price in the global market in the last one month.
Rice prices in Bangladesh have almost doubled in the past one year as widespread floods in July and August and the devastating cyclone in November damaged some 2 million tons of rice.
The government in January started negotiations with India for importing half a million tons of rice.
Of the total 500,000 tons of rice, India sold 100,000 tons at 399 U.S. dollars per ton. But it hiked the price of the rest 400,000 tons following spikes in rates in the global market.