Bangladesh bans non-aromatic rice exports

Enlarge Photo Labourers dry paddy at a rice mill in Savar, 28 km from the capital Dhaka,...

Thu, May 1 01:45 PM

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh will ban exports of non-aromatic rice to boost stocks as fears grow that the staple will be in short supply, Commerce Secretary Firoz Ahmed said on Thursday.

Bangladesh is the world's fourth largest rice importer, but some local traders also export aromatic and non-aromatic rice to the United States, the United Kingdom, Gulf countries and Southeast Asia.

Asian rice prices have almost trebled this year as export restrictions by leading suppliers fuel insecurity over food supplies.

With only 30 million tonnes traded annually, government supply curbs, such as those from New Delhi and Hanoi, have spooked importers, such as Bangladesh, at a time when global stocks have halved since hitting a record high in 2001.

Bangladesh exported rice worth $5.42 million in the first eight months of the fiscal year (July-June), up from $4.11 million the same period last fiscal year, officials said.

The retail price in Bangladesh of 1 kg of rice has now risen by 100 percent to 40 taka ($0.58) from early 2007, due to damage to 1.8 million tonnes of rice by two spells of floods and a devastating cyclone last year, along with global food price inflation.

Bangladesh produces about 29 million tonnes of rice annually to feed its 140 million people, and also imports nearly 3 million tonnes, officials said.

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