Govt approves import of 300,000 tonnes rice from Cambodia, Singapore

The government has cleared proposals to import an additional 300,000 tonnes rice from Cambodia and Singapore.

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase endorsed the proposals at a meeting chaired by Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Wednesday.

Additional Cabinet Secretary Mostafizur Rahman told reporters that the government will buy 250,000 tonnes of Atop rice from the government of Cambodia.

The import will cost Bangladesh around Tk 9.4 billion at the rate of $453 per tonne, the additional secretary said.     

There will be no need to float tender to buy the lot from Cambodia due to 'urgent need of the state', the Cabinet committee on economic affairs decided in a meeting before that of the government purchase committee.

The government will also buy 50,000 tonnes of non-Basmati boiled rice from Singapore's Resington Enterprise Limited in line with international quotation, Additional Secretary Mostafizur said.

The price will be around Tk 1.7 billion at $407.89 per tonne.

The government is importing food grains and easing import conditions after two spells of floods devastated crops on hundreds of thousands of farmland, raising fear of a food crisis.

The government and private importers have brought 352,000 tonnes of rice until Aug 21 in the current fiscal.