The government has imposed restrictions on the export of indigenous popular varieties of aromatic rice again in the interest of the local market of Bangladesh.
The decision was taken on Tuesday (October 24) in a response to a letter of the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit and the Ministry of Agriculture, said sources of the ministry.
It was said that the decision has been made considering the country’s overall food situation. Based on decisions from the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit, an MOA policy unit issued a letter asking the authorities to abide by the restrictions on rice export.
The letter has been sent to the governor of Bangladesh Bank, the chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), secretaries of Commerce, Civil Aviation and Tourism and Food ministries, the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh and the vice-chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau.
The Food Planning and Monitoring Unit recommended the restrictions on the aromatic rice exports on October 8 considering the country’s overall food situation, says the letter.
Earlier on September 10, the secretary of the agriculture ministry decided to suspend rice exports to ensure food security.
The aromatic rice is exported to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Australia, Brunei, Bhutan, Canada, Switzerland, the UK, France, Germany, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Japan, Lebanon, the Maldives, Nepal, New Zealand, Myanmar, Mauritius, Malaysia, Kuwait, Liberia and South Africa.
According to the Bangladesh Rice Exporters Association, there is a good demand for aromatic rice in Europe, America and the Middle East.
However, the demand for aromatic rice is higher in countries where there are expatriate Bangladeshis.
According to the Agriculture Information Service, about 10 million expatriate Bangladeshis working in different countries consume around 2,500-5,000 tonnes of aromatic rice every year.
Kalizira, Chinigura, Kataribhog, Basmati, Tulsimala and BR-38 varieties of aromatic rice were on the export list.
Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh, Rangpur, Naogaon, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, and Sherpur commercially produce large amounts of aromatic rice.
Statistics show that on average, the annual export of aromatic rice was 10,000 metric tonnes in the previous times.
Some private companies such as Ispahani, Square, Pran export packaged aromatic rice to 136 countries. Around 41 companies had been granted permission to export the aromatic rice. However, due to the ban, these companies were unable to export aromatic rice.
According to DAE, the cultivation of aromatic rice has significantly increased in the past few years due to high-yielding varieties. Although the production cost of aromatic rice is a little higher, it brings more profits.
