Consumers are unlikely to get relief from the rising prices of rice as traders having government permit couldn't make import of the staple although the timelines all expired last week.
The food ministry in March and April permitted 80 importers to bring 0.08 and 0.204 million tonnes of rice respectively.
The first permit's deadline was April 26 and last one May 15, according to the food ministry.
But no traders were found having opened LC though few sought import permit (IP) orders from the plant-quarantine wing, said an official at the Directorate General of Food (DGoF).
He said higher export prices of rice across the globe, especially in neighbouring India, "made the move almost futile".
However, the minimum import cost than that of Bangladeshi rice price is much higher now, said Abul Kalam, a Saidpur-based importer in Nilphamari.
His company, M/S Kalam Trading Corporation, got permission to import 2,000 tonnes of rice in April.
He said Indian parboiled coarse rice would be above US $600 a tonne now inclusive of duties on both sides of the border.
And the Indian government has "restricted food export" following the national elections in that country.
"Officials with the Directorate General of Food (DGoF) have assured us that the import time will be extended," the trader told the FE correspondent.
Cheese Gallery proprietor Zakir Hosain says his company got food ministry's permission to import one thousand tonnes of parboiled and another thousand tonnes of white 'atap' rice. But he also failed to deliver on the permit.
India slapped 20-percent duty on parboiled-rice export in October 2023 which still stands, he says about one reason that stands in the trade way.
Apart from the export duty, there is also an import duty of 15.25 per cent to be paid to cross the Bangladeshi border.
"The appreciation of the greenback by 6.3 per cent also has been discouraging importers from bringing in rice," he adds.
He rues that it would cost minimum Tk 122 to source a dollar now which was 115 earlier.
He guesses that coarse- rice import from India, Pakistan or Vietnam will cost minimum Tk 74 a kg for now when local mill-gate price is Tk 43-44.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) May data show a 9.2-percent surge in rice prices this month compared to that in 2023.
Indian and Pakistani parboiled rice (5.0 per cent broken) was available at $535-599 a tonne, while Vietnamese and Thai ones at $593-627 a tonne, says the FAO.
Value-chain-expert Prof Dr Rashidul Hasan predicts little change or further decline in rice prices amid rocketing cost of production in the ongoing Boro season.
He thinks paddy price will remain above Tk 30 a kg during the primary trading season , which means "there is no chance to get coarse rice at below Tk 44 a kg at mill-gates".
He mentions that the government is expecting above 20 million tonnes of rice from this Boro season.
"So, proper management of local available rice is mandatory to prevent any volatility on the rice market," he suggests.
He also suggests the government procurement drive this Boro season should be made a success to keep a hold over the giant millers and companies.
According to the food ministry's data, the country hasn't imported any rice so far this financial year until May 15.
The country has a demand for 33-34 million tonnes of rice while it produces 37 million tonnes, says the ministry, which shows a surplus.
Mismanagement in the market and post-harvest losses create market volatility despite having a rice surplus, market experts have said.
However, retail prices of rice were static at their previous highs in Bangladesh as coarse rice like guti swarna and hybrid from the current Boro season were selling at Tk 54-55 a kg, medium-quality BRRI dhan 28, swarna-5, paijam at Tk 62-65 and different kinds of finer rice like miniket, jeera, and najirshail at Tk 75-98 a kg in Dhaka, according to market sources.
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