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The government has extended the deadline for exporting fragrant rice by one month. This extension is applicable to 50 companies. The companies will be able to export fragrant rice until November 30. Their previous deadline was September 30.
About a month after the export deadline expired, the Ministry of Commerce sent a letter to the Office of the Chief Controller of Import and Export on Monday informing them of the extension. Separate copies of the letter have been given to 50 companies.
The Ministry of Commerce has allowed a total of 187 companies to export fragrant rice in two phases this year. 133 companies were granted permission on April 8 with an export deadline of September 30, and 52 companies were granted permission on May 28 with an export deadline of November 30. The 50 companies that have been given a new deadline will be allowed on April 8. If all of them can export, the total amount will be 23,950 tons.
Sources said that many of those who had an export deadline of September 30 could not export and applied to the Ministry of Commerce for an extension of time. The Ministry of Commerce took a month to make this decision.
This year, the permission is given in quantities of 100, 150, 200, 300, 400, and 500 tons according to the capacity of the institutions. As a condition, the export price of rice per kilogram must be at least 1.60 US dollars. If we calculate it at 122 taka per dollar, the price of rice per kilogram in Bangladeshi currency will be 195 taka.
Other conditions include that no one can export more than the approved amount of rice. And after each shipment, all export-related documents must be submitted to the Ministry of Commerce. This permission is not transferable in any way. That is, the approved exporting institution cannot export through others without exporting itself; that is, subcontracting cannot be given. According to the Export Policy Order, rice export from Bangladesh is always prohibited, but there is an opportunity to export fragrant rice with the permission of the government.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), 2.88 million dollars were earned by exporting fragrant rice in the 2019-20 fiscal year. The next year, in the 2020-21 fiscal year, it decreased to 2.06 million dollars. In the 2021-22 fiscal year, this income decreased further to $1.07 million. Then, in the 2022-23 fiscal year, the government suspended permission for the export of fragrant rice.
According to sources in the Ministry of Commerce, Bangladesh started exporting fragrant rice from the 2009-10 fiscal year. In the first year, 663 tons of fragrant rice were exported. Exports continued to increase in the following years, which increased to 10,879 tons in the 2019-20 fiscal year. According to the Ministry of Commerce, the country produces 1.8 to 2 million tons of fragrant rice annually. An average of 10,000 tons is exported every year.
Various corporate organizations have been exporting this rice to more than 130 countries around the world, including the United Kingdom, various European countries, the United States, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and South Korea.
The Ministry of Commerce has a list of exportable fragrant rice. These are black cumin, black cumin TPL-62, sugar powder, sugar atap, sugar kanai, badshabhog, kataribhog, madanbhog, radhunipagal, banshphul, jatabanchphul, binnaphul, tulsi mala, tulsi atap, tulsi mani, madhumala, khorma, sakkur khorma, nunia, pashushail, dulabhog, etc.
Source: Online/GFMM
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