The IMF projects that consumer prices in the country will rise by 7.9 percent by the end of the fiscal year
Exporting rice when imports going up
Bangladesh is going to export coarse rice at a time when imports of the staple cereal is on the rise.
Published : 27 Oct 2014, 06:27 PM
Updated : 11 March 2015, 12:43 PM
Food Minister Qamrul Islam on Monday said at the Secretariat that Bangladesh was exporting 50,000 tonnes rice to Sri Lanka.
However, latest import statistics available at the central bank show imports of rice increased in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, beginning on July 1 over same previous period.
They show imports of other commodities are also on the rise.
For import of rice businessmen opened letters of credit (LCs) amounting to $103.63 million in July-Sept period, when LCs worth Tk $90.07 million were settled.
Opening of LC was 56 percent higher than in the same period last year.
During July-Sept last FY, LCs amounting to $66.43 million were opened and $50.92 million settled for rice import.
Islam, while talking to reporters after a meeting of food planning committee, said process of rice exports to Sri Lanka would begin in 10-15 days.
The Cabinet on Sept 18 gave go-ahead to rice exports.
Though Bangladesh exports aromatic rice on a limited scale, overseas sale of coarse rice is going to happen for the first time.
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) former research director M Asaduzzaman said rice exports were taking place at the government level but imports were happening at the private level.
He said: “Production of coarse rice has increased, but its demand declined. That’s why the government can export (rice).”
Asked about the reasons for the decline in domestic demand for coarse rice, Asaduzzaman said: “People’s income has risen. That’s why they are purchasing better quality rice.”
He said the rice which is being imported now is of fine variety.
Imports of commodities other than rice also went up in the first quarter of the current FY.
According to the Bangladesh Bank report, businessmen opened LCs worth $10.83 billion during the period for imports of commodity. That is 12.81 percent up over the amount during the same period last year.
Please read the Bangla story for details
RELATED STORIES
While initial price spikes have faded since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a widening of the conflict could cause them to intensify, the IMF says
Manufacturing output in February rose 5% year on year, slower than the 5.9% rise posted in the same month last year
The producer price index for final demand rose 0.2% last month after increasing by an unrevised 0.6% in February
