In a government-to-government agreement, Bangladesh has given Indian co-operatives almost $40 per tonne more than what the private commerce had bid in a global import tender for 2.5 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice. Two tranches of the import agreement will be made through NCCF (National Co-operative Consumers Federation) and Kendriya Bhandar, with Dhaka receiving rice at $443 and $443.5 per tonne, respectively, according to trade sources. Due to competitive bidding among private traders, Bangladesh was able to purchase rice from India last year for less money. Private traders back then were ready to accept margins as low as $1 per tonne.
Bangladesh will receive parboiled rice for at least $25 less than the rated quoted Thailand or Pakistan while paying higher prices to Indian co-operatives for the G2G transaction. For parboiled rice, Pakistan is currently providing $453–457 a tonne, compared to Thailand’s quote of $486. According to a trade specialist, if Bangladesh is giving a price for the G2G contract that is 10% higher than what private merchants bid in the worldwide tender, then indicates that there is a shortage of supply in the market.
At the moment, China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines are scouring the world for rice as demand in Asia has risen. “Rice stocks in Myanmar are being stealthily devoured by Vietnam and Cambodia. The Rohingya issue is causing friction between Bangladesh and Myanmar, the analyst claimed. As it has failed to procure parboiled rice from either Vietnam, Thailand, or Cambodia, the Sheikha Hasina Wazed administration is prepared to pay the extra
The market for rice has been booming in recent months, especially after India restricted the export of the commodity.
Thailand has increased the cost of rice by more than $25 a tonne over the last few weeks, with a $33 increase in parboiled prices. According to the Agriculture Market Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization, this year’s rice production would be down more than 12 million tonnes.
