Bangladesh tenders to buy 50,000 tonnes of rice

Bangladesh's state grains buyer issued on Wednesday a tender to import 50,000 tonnes of non-basmati parboiled rice to ensure supplies of the staple, a food official said. The last date of submission of offers is June 6 and the rice is to be shipped in 40 days after signing deal. This is the first tender for the 2011/12 fiscal year, beginning in July.
A senior official at the Directorate General of Food said the government had turned to international markets for rice due to lower global prices while domestic prices of the staple were still high. "Most probably we are going to issue another tender for rice soon," said the official, who asked not to be named.
Bangladesh, once self-sufficient in rice, has become a big importer recently, which analysts say is due to a growing population and shrinking farmland. Food prices have risen sharply over the past one year, prompting Bangladesh to look into ways of securing supplies for its growing population.
Bangladeshi firms have joined Chinese and other companies looking to lease farmland in Africa as part of efforts to ensure food security in the country of more than 150 million people. The government's grain imports are likely to drop to 1.4 million tonnes in the coming fiscal year from nearly 2.5 million tonnes in the current fiscal year, a senior food official told Reuters last month.
However, analysts said Bangladesh may need to import more if the government fails to procure enough rice locally, like in this fiscal year, or natural calamities such as floods and drought cut output.
Bangladesh's government is not only struggling with high food inflation at 14.36 percent but also footing a massive subsidy bill for fuel, grain and fertiliser. Nearly 40 percent of Bangladeshis live on less than $1.25 a day and spend most of the money on food. This has prompted the opposition to use the food issue to push for a mid-term election.