Bangladesh lifts ban on rice exports, hopes to sell up to 1.5mn tonnes

DHAKA: Bangladesh lifted its long-standing ban on rice exports on Thursday, aiming to sell as much as 1.5 million tonnes to support farmers following a drastic drop in domestic prices, the country's agriculture minister Abdur Razzak said.

Last week the government raised import duty on rice to 55pc from 28pc as growers vented their anger over falling prices by burning paddy.

Bangladesh, traditionally the world's fourth biggest rice producer, banned overseas shipments of some common rice varieties in May 2008 after a spike in domestic prices.

It banned all rice exports a year later.