The interim government in Bangladesh has allowed exports of aroma rice after a year-and-a-half, leading to a section of Indian exporters demanding that New Delhi hike it rice shipment prices to Dhaka.
“After 7 years, the Bangladesh government has given a quota to export its special rice variety, which could affect Indian speciality rice varieties such as Sona Masuri, Jeera Kasala and premium non-Basmati rice,” said a New Delhi-based exporter.
Expats from Bangladesh used to consume Indian Origin rice, and Bangladesh’s quota will affect around 2.5 lakh tonnes of exports of Indian rice, he said.
Exporters undercutting each other
Another exporter said Bangladesh’s strategy seems to be import rice cheaper from India and export special or premium variety rice. “Our exporters try to undercut each other to sell rice to Bangladesh. At one point in time, exporters even settled for a meagre margin of $1/tonne. It has hurt the industry badly,” the exporter said.
This year, Bangladesh plans to import 6 lakh tonnes of rice, mainly parboiled, in tranches of 50,000 tonnes. All tenders for the imports ended recently. A feature of the tenders was that the lowest bid in the first tender was $477 a tonne. In the final tender, the lowest bid was $394.77.
“We have made available rice cheaper to Bangladesh. Despite this, Dhaka is encouraging trade with Pakistan,” said the second exporter. The exporting community has been angered by the interim government’s efforts to, in what it considers, belittle India.
‘Revisit strategy’
A New Delhi-based trade analyst said the government and exporters should revisit their export rice pricing strategy to increase value realisation that could enable a rise in farm income. The analyst raised concerns, in particular, over the decline in the export price of the premium rice market.
The first exporter even suggested suspending trade with Bangladesh for some time to send out a strong message to Dhaka. India had always looked to help Bangladesh despite facing problems of food inflation. Even when it banned rice and wheat exports, it made it clear that it would help vulnerable and neighbouring countries.
Last week, Bangladesh media reported that Dhaka has permitted 133 firms to export 18,150 tonnes of aroma rice. These will be in packages of 100-500 tonnes, depending on each company’s capacity.
Riders for exports
Bangladesh Commerce Ministry has, however, come up with conditions for the shipments. These include minimum export price ($1.6/kg), quantity limit, ban on quota transfer and a likely curb at anytime of exports.
Bangladesh suspended exports of rice in October 2023 when the country faced food crisis due to weather challenges, mainly floods. The interim government decided to permit exports in January.
Dhaka began exporting aroma rice from 2009-10. It was exported to nearly 140 countries, including Europe, the US and the UAE, before shipments were suspended.
Published on April 22, 2025
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