18 October 2014 12:52 pm
While Bangladesh offered to sell rice to Sri Lanka at about $493 per ton (on CIF basis), Sri Lanka requested for a reduction in the price to about $450 per ton (CIF). Bangladesh Foreign Ministry sent a letter to Sri Lanka stating its interest to reduce the export price to $450 per ton.
However, official sources told media that Sri Lankan government has so far not responded to the Bangladesh's acceptance to its request. They noted that Bangladesh government would start shipping rice to Sri Lanka once it receives confirmation on the price.
Bangladesh government, which extended a ban on its non-aromatic rice exports to FY 2014-15 (July - June) to ensure food security in the country, had agreed to export 50,000 tons of rice to Sri Lanka as its rice production this year is likely to be impacted by a severe drought.
The government has assured that the current rice stocks are adequate to meet the country's consumption needs. According to the Ministry of Food, the country has around 1.14 million tons of rice stocks as on October 15, 2014, up about 48% from stocks of about 766,810 tons during same pariod last year. The government also decided to import around 200,000 tons of rice in FY 2014-15 to replenish falling stocks in the country, according to the Directorate of Food.
Bangladesh produced around 34.36 million tons of rice in 2013-14, up about 2% from around 33.76 million tons last year, according to data from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
USDA estimates Bangladesh MY 2014-15 (July - June) milled rice production at around 34.6 million tons, up slightly from around 33.82 million tons produced in MY 2013-14. It estimates Bangladesh to import around 678,000 tons of rice in 2014.