Indian commerce minister Anand Sharma said on Saturday his country was ready to ship 500,000 tonnes of grain to Bangladesh under government to government deals. "We are ready to ship 300,000 tonnes of parboiled rice and 200,000 tonnes wheat to Bangladesh," Sharma told a joint news conference with his Bangladesh counterpart Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Faruk Khan in Dhaka.
The shipment is expected to start by next one week when Bangladesh decides through which port the consignment should be handled, Sharma said without giving details. The Indian government had agreed to export 300,000 tonnes of non-basmati rice and 200,000 tonnes of wheat to neighbouring country following a request from Bangladesh late last year.
India, the world's second largest rice producer, does not permit free sale of the grain but sends limited stocks overseas to friendly countries, officials in the Indian High Commission in Dhaka said. Bangladesh - the world's fourth-biggest rice producer with more than 34 million tonnes a year, has gradually emerged as a major importer by this year as it has been struggling to keep prices stable in local markets to feed the millions of poor.
Kilograms of fine and coarse rice are now sold in the country at 58 taka ($0.80) and taka 35 taka ($0.48) per kg while aromatic rice sells at 100 taka ($1.37) per kg. The Bangladesh government, under mounting pressure to contain prices, seeks to import 2.2-3.0 million tonnes of grains, including 1.2 million tonnes of rice, in the year to June, up from nearly 550,000 tonnes in the previous year.