Bangladesh to Export Rice to Boost Prices, Finance Minister Says

Bangladesh plans to export rice to boost prices for producers, Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith said.

“Rice production is gradually going up; we are looking at ways to export rice to ensure that the farmers get just price,” Muhith told reporters in Dhaka after a ministerial meeting on food.

Output of the grain in the South Asian nation rose to 33.79 million metric tons in the year ended June 30 from 33.52 million tons a year ago, according to data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

The government has stockpiled 1.02 million metric tons of rice and 254,000 tons of wheat as of July 12, data from the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management show.

The average price of rice was 41 taka (50 cents) a kilogram today, down from 46 taka a year ago, according to the Trading Corp. of Bangladesh.

To contact the reporter on this story: Arun Devnath in Dhaka at adevnath@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Arijit Ghosh at aghosh@bloomberg.net