The first consignment of rice that the government purchased from Vietnam has arrived at the Chittagong port. The ship carrying 20,000 tonnes of rice anchored around 9:30am Thursday at the Kutubdia outer anchorage, Controller of Movement and Storage Jahirul Islam of the Department of Food Chittagong told the Dhaka Tribune. “All considered we can hopefully allow the unloading of the rice to begin by Saturday or Sunday,” he said. The government has purchased 200,000 tonnes of white rice at $430 per tonne and 50,000 tonnes of parboiled rice at $470 per tonne from Vietnam to maintain immediate availability of stock in the market, as well as reserves. The country’s rice stock has hit a five year low, at 193,000 tonnes.

Source: Dhaka Tribune July 13, 2017 07:36 UTC