Bangladesh to Import 6.5 Lakh Tonnes of Food Grains to Strengthen Stocks

The government of Bangladesh is preparing to import 6.5 lakh tonnes of food grains to strengthen national reserves and protect against fluctuations in rice and wheat prices.

The Economic Affairs Advisory Committee approved the Food Ministry’s import plan today. Under government-to-government (G2G) agreements, the ministry will purchase 3 lakh tonnes of wheat directly, while 3 lakh tonnes of rice will be sourced through international tenders.

To speed up rice imports, the high-powered committee has temporarily relaxed public procurement rules, reducing the usual import timeline from 42 days to just 15 days.

In addition, the government has authorized the import of 50,000 tonnes of non-basmati rice from Singapore-based Aditya Birla Global Trading Pte Ltd at a price of $354.19 per tonne.

Between July 1 and November 17 this year, Bangladesh imported a total of 26.17 lakh tonnes of food grains, with 2.22 lakh tonnes procured by the government. As of November 17, public food stocks stood at 13.71 lakh tonnes, according to official Food Ministry data.