Dhaka/New Delhi, Apr 12 (UNI) A ship carrying 36,100 tonnes of parboiled rice from India arrived at Chattogram port under an open tender agreement, according to Bangladesh’s Ministry of Food.

The ship, MV Frosso K, reached the outer anchorage on April 10 and was berthed at the GCB terminal of the port today, said the office of the Controller of Movement and Storage, Chattogram, under the Directorate of Food, according to The Daily Star.

The consignment is part of a government deal to import a total of 4.5 lakh tonnes of rice from India in nine packages, according to the press release signed by Imdad Islam, senior information officer and public relations officer of the ministry.

So far, 3.17 lakh tonnes of rice have reached Bangladesh under this agreement, it added.

Unloading of the cargo began in the afternoon after the rice samples were tested, said an official of the Controller of Movement and Storage office.

India is one of Bangladesh’s largest rice suppliers, exporting according to Dhaka’s domestic demand.

Under the recent agreements with the Interim Government, New Delhi exported over 200,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh with an additional 100,000 tonnes under a tender process.

Bangladesh has been facing issues related to food security following severe floods, and to cool inflationary pressures on rice prices.

The Indian exports of rice come even as New Delhi has withdrawn transshipment facility to Bangladesh.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said earlier this week that the withdrawal of transshipment facility would not affect Bangladesh's exports to Nepal and Bhutan.



India's Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) issued a circular on April 8, announcing that New Delhi is rescinding the use of the transshipment facility to Bangladesh for export via its land routes.

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