FE REPORT.

The government has met 76 per cent of its FY25 rice-import target so far, thanks to the grain’s sourcing from multiple countries, officials said.

The two latest consignments totalling 35,000 tonnes arrived at the Chittagong port from India and Vietnam, according to a food ministry announcement.

With those, the Directorate General of Food (DGoF) has imported a total of 0.38 million tonnes of rice.

Director (procurement) of DGoF Md Moniruzzaman said the government’s primary target was to bring in 0.50 million tonnes of rice in the current financial year to help stabilise the domestic market and contribute to the social safety net.

He said the government has finalised deals with four countries – India, Pakistan, Myanmar, and Vietnam – to import rice.

The target until June this year was 0.50 million tonnes, while the food ministry has extended it to 0.90 million tonnes until December, he also said.

Moniruzzaman said the private sector has imported 0.3 million tonnes of rice.

He further said the advantages of sourcing rice from multiple countries are the timely arrival of shipments and competitive prices.

According to the food ministry, the country has inked deals to bring in 0.2 million tonnes of rice from India, 0.05 million tonnes from Pakistan, 0.1 million tonnes from Vietnam, and 0.1 million tonnes from Myanmar.

Bangladesh signed the latest contract with Vietnam in February to import 0.1 million tonnes of white rice.

Meanwhile, the DGoF has also procured 0.53 million tonnes of rice from domestic sources under its Aman procurement programme.

The government warehouses now have 1.0 million tonnes of rice.

After witnessing a Tk 10-12 per kg hike in the last few months, rice prices have been showing a static trend for the last two weeks. However, aromatic rice prices increased by Tk 15-20 a kg during this period.

Coarse rice is being retailed at Tk 58-60 per kg, medium one at Tk 68-72 per kg, and fine one at Tk 85-100 per kg in Dhaka city.

Moreover, unpackaged aromatic rice is being sold at Tk 140-155 a kg and branded packaged rice at Tk 160-170 a kg.

Traders said the recent announcements of possible aromatic rice exports made by the food and commerce ministries pushed up prices during Ramadan.

However, global rice prices have witnessed a 6.8 per cent decline in February compared to January.

The current price is more than 24 per cent lower than that a year ago, according to the FAO All Rice Price Index (FARPI) March 2025.

Published Date: March 18, 2025