DHAKA: The lowest price offered in the tender from Bangladesh’s state grains buyer to purchase 50,000 tonnes of rice which closed on Sunday was at $411.93 a tonne CIF liner out, an official at the state grain buyer said.

The lowest offer was submitted by trading house PK Agri Link while five other traders competed for the tender, the official said.

The tender seeks price offers for non-basmati parboiled rice in CIF liner out terms which include some ship unloading costs, for shipment to the ports of Chittagong and Mongla.

The rice can come from worldwide origins and shipment is required 40 days after contract award.

Bangladesh, traditionally the world’s third-biggest rice producer, has emerged as a big importer due to depleted stocks and record prices after repeated flooding damaged its crop.

Apart from tenders, the south Asian country is also buying in state-to-state deals with India, Thailand and Vietnam, while private traders are allowed to import 1 million tonnes of rice.

In spite of frantic efforts, the reserves are still low due to slow shipment, officials said.