DHAKA: Bangladesh's state grains buyer plans to increase the volume of rice and wheat in tenders to speed up imports and build stocks in the face of record global food prices.
"We are thinking to raise the volume of grains in tenders," an official at the Directorate General of Food, who declined to be named, said on Friday.
"If possible, for wheat tenders we may ask for 100,000 tonnes instead of the earlier 50,000 tonnes. For parboiled rice we can seek 50,000 tonnes from an earlier 30,000 tonnes to cut time and build stocks as quickly as possible," he told Reuters.
"If it is not possible, we will issue tenders for wheat and rice every week," he said.
US wheat futures rallied to near 2-1/2 year highs on Friday as concerns mount about yields from the US winter wheat crop and as commodities were helped by stronger oil prices.
The government, under increased pressure for failing to contain prices, is seeking to import 2.2-3.0 million tonnes of rice and wheat in the year to June, up from around 550,000 tonnes in the previous year.
Bangladesh, the world's fourth biggest rice producer, is desperately looking for dependable source for rice as it has emerged as a major importer this year.
"The government is making frantic efforts to import rice and wheat to ensure food security," Ahmed Hossain Khan, Director General of the state grains buyer, told Reuters.
"The government is negotiating with Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia for long term deals to import rice as India, once traditional supplier to Bangladesh, maintained its ban on wheat and rice," Khan said.
The United Nations said on Thursday its Food and Agriculture Organisation Food Price Index rose for the seventh month in a row to reach 231 in January, topping the peak of 224.1 last seen in June 2008. It is the highest level the index has reached since records began in 1990.
Soaring food prices also pushed the country's food inflation to 11 percent in December and analysts fear social unrest if prices keep going up as nearly 40 percent of Bangladeshis are surviving on less than $1 a day.
"Domestic markets are facing supply shortages despite bumper food production in the country in the last cropping season," said Mustafa K. Mujeri, Director General of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.
Rice is the main staple for Bangladesh's more than 150 million peopl?Reuters
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