Staff Correspondent:

The government has approved the export of 5,800 tonnes of aromatic rice in a second phase of permissions granted to 52 companies.

According a circular issued by the Ministry of Commerce each company has been allowed to export between 100 and 200 tonnes of aromatic rice, and all shipments must be completed by 30 November.

The minimum export price has been set at $1.60 per kg, equivalent to Tk196.80.

Earlier on 8 April, the ministry granted permission to 133 firms to export 18,150 tonnes of aromatic rice, with the export deadline for that batch set at 30 September.

The circular stated that exporters must submit all relevant export documentation to the Export-2 Section of the Ministry of Commerce after each shipment is completed. Applications for future export permits must include proof of actual exports made under previous approvals. Exporters are not allowed to exceed the approved export quantity.

Besides, the permission is non-transferable and exporters are prohibited from subcontracting the export to third parties.

A senior official at the commerce ministry said, “Production of aromatic rice has increased in the country. For a long time, exporters have been requesting permission to export. In the absence of such approval, there were allegations of smuggling aromatic rice into neighbouring countries. As part of diversifying export earnings, the government has decided to allow the export.”

According to the Ministry of Food, Bangladesh produced 1.023 million tonnes of aromatic rice in FY2023-24, up from 579,000 tonnes in FY2017-18 – nearly double over seven years.

Stakeholders say rising domestic demand has encouraged farmers to cultivate more aromatic rice. According to the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), 33 varieties of aromatic rice are currently being cultivated across the country.

Data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) shows that Bangladesh earned $2.88 million from aromatic rice exports in FY2019-20. However, the figure dropped to $2.06 million in FY2020-21 and further declined to $1.07 million in FY2021-22. The government then suspended all aromatic rice exports during FY2022-23.

As a result, no exports took place until December of the current fiscal year 2024-25. The government resumed approvals this January, following which several hundred companies applied for export permissions.