DHAKA: The government has decided to import 100,000 tonnes of white rice from Myanmar, food minister Qamrul Islam said on Monday. “A delegation from Myanmar had a meeting with the food ministry on Sunday where the rice import was discussed,” he said while talking to UNB at his office.
The move came amid the skyrocketing prices of rice in the local market. The rice will be imported at $442 a tonne, Qamrul said. Replying to a query as to when the imported rice will be arriving, he said the rice will come within the next three months. Meanwhile, food secretary Md Kaikobad Hossain said, “We had a meeting with the Myanmar delegation on Sunday over the rice import and the decision to procure 1 lakh tonnes of white rice was taken by the minister today (Monday).”