The government has extended ban on rice export for another year in an effort to curb the price hike of the staple food in the domestic market, said an official of the commerce ministry yesterday.
The commerce ministry has restricted the export till June 30, 2012.
"We have maintained the bar to prevent the price hike of rice in local market," said Commerce Minister Faruk Khan.
This is the first time since May 2008 that the government imposed a one-year ban on rice export, shifting away from its previous timeframe of six months.
The latest embargo on rice export comes at a time when the government expects 4.15 percent higher yield than that of the fiscal 2010-11. In the last fiscal year, around 3.46 crore tonnes of cereal, including wheat, were produced thanks to bumper boro harvest.
Even after the rise in production, Bangladesh imported 11 lakh tonnes of rice and 31 lakh tonnes of wheat in the first nine months of the last fiscal year, according to food department records.
"It means the consumption of rice has increased locally," observed the commerce minister.
According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, prices of rice spiralled up in city markets over the last one month. Prices of coarse rice edged up 3.17 percent higher to Tk 32-33 per kilogramme. Prices of medium and fine varieties of rice also increased.
Source: The Daily Star
