Govt to lift ban on aromatic rice export

The government is going to lift the ban on exporting aromatic rice after a year as the commerce ministry has made a policy decision in this regard.

In June last year, the ban was imposed in an effort to stabilise the rice market in the country.

At that time, the food ministry urged the commerce ministry to ban the export of aromatic rice. However, the ban is now being lifted as the food ministry has recommended the export, considering the good rice production in the country this year.

According to a senior official of the commerce ministry who spoke on the condition of anonymity to The Business Standard that the ministry has made a policy decision to extend the time limit for exporters who were previously granted permission to export aromatic rice within a specific timeframe.

Commerce ministry sources said around 41 companies had been granted permission to export aromatic rice. However, due to the ban, these companies were unable to export the allocated quantity of aromatic rice.

Now, these companies will have the opportunity to reapply for export.

Prior to the ban, Bangladesh used to export over 10,000 tonnes of aromatic rice annually to 136 countries worldwide, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Europe, the USA, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and South Korea.

Square Food & Beverage, one of the major exporters, had obtained permission to export 3,000 tonnes of aromatic rice prior to the imposition of the ban. However, they were unable to carry out the export as a result of the ban.

Parvez Saiful Islam, chief operating officer of Square Food and Beverage, said, "We will make efforts to regain our position in the export market. We believe that we can contribute significantly to earning foreign exchange for the country."

On Tuesday, the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission held a meeting with the representatives of the food ministry, the commerce ministry, and exporters.

During the meeting, Mahbubur Rahman, deputy secretary of the food ministry, said that due to sufficient rice production in the country to meet the demand, the government may consider allowing aromatic rice export on a case-by-case basis.

Tania Islam, deputy secretary of the commerce ministry, stated that the commerce ministry will reassess the matter of export if there are no objections from the food ministry.

At the meeting, it was determined that the commerce ministry will evaluate and decide on granting permission for the export of aromatic rice on a case-by-case basis. Subsequently, the commission will furnish an analytical report to the commerce ministry to formalise the inclusion of aromatic rice in the export policy.

During the meeting, the exporters highlighted that the country's production of fragrant rice amounts to 18.35 lakh tonnes, with approximately 2% of it being exported.