A ship carrying rice from India has reached the waters of Chattogram Port.

The vessel, named MV TANAIS DREAM, reached the outer anchorage of Chattogram Port at 3:00 pm on Wednesday with 24,690 tonnes of parboiled rice from the Indian port of Kakinada.

The shipment is part of an ongoing 50,000-tonne rice import, with the first batch of 493,800 bags with 24,690 tonnes reaching the port city, reports bdnews24.com.

The food ministry had previously announced that the ship would arrive at the port around 5:30 am Thursday.

The rice was procured through an international open tender issued by the Directorate General of Food in November, where an Indian company won the contract to supply 50,000 tonnes of rice.

Gnana Priya Bidurshi Chakma, a regulatory officer at the directorate in Chattogram, confirmed the ship’s arrival.

He said: “The vessel from Kakinada has reached the outer anchorage of the port. It is expected to dock at Jetty 9 by Thursday morning.”

He added that unloading would begin shortly after.

The second consignment of rice from India is expected to arrive in the first week of January.

Efforts to expedite the unloading of imported rice have been made to ensure swift distribution.

This marks the first shipment of rice from India since the formation of the interim government after the student uprising on Aug 5.

Published Date: December 25, 2024