Bangladesh has finalised the deal on procuring rice from Myanmar in a bid to bring down prices in local markets.
Bangladesh will buy 100,000 tonnes of white rice at $442 per tonne, Food Minister Qamrul Islam told the media in Dhaka on Monday, reports bdnews24.com.
"We had a meeting with Myanmar representatives Sunday," said the minister adding that an approval from the Prime Minister's Office is required to take the process ahead.
"The process to import will start after approvals from the PMO and the cabinet committees on economic affairs and public purchase," Islam said replying to a question on when the rice is expected to arrive.
The import duty on rice was also revised down to 2 per cent from 26 per cent. But the price of rice has soared back up.
Government data, often lower than market prices, shows an 18 percent rise in a month while 50 percent in a year.
The coarse variety is currently on sale at no less than Tk 50 per kg.
To adjust the market prices, the government has doubled the price of rice for its open market sale or OMS to Tk 30 per kilogram.
