Bangladesh's food grains import may rise to 3.5m tonnes in 2008: IRRI

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S M Jahangir
Bangladesh will require importing around 3.5 million tonnes of food grains in calendar 2008 following a big output shortfall in its major crop 'Aman,' caused by the cyclone 'Sidr' and floods, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) said.
"The country's food grain imports - usually 2.0 million to 2.4 million tonnes - are likely to rise to 3.5 million tonnes in 2008," the IRRI reported in its latest publication - Rice Today.
Referring to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), it also said the cyclone and two major floods earlier in 2007 had contributed to 'major food shortage' in Bangladesh, which has been added to a list of 37 countries facing a food crisis and requiring external assistance.
It, however, said: "Adding to the burden for the millions of afflicted people, the increased imports combined with high global grain prices will probably lead to higher prices for consumers."
The livelihood of more than 8.5 million people, according to the FAO, had been adversely affected by the cyclone damage, the IRRI publication reported in its 'January-March 2008' issue.
Moreover, estimates of rice shortfall caused by the cyclone and floods range from 1.4 million to 2.0 million tonnes, it mentioned.
The Sidr hit the southern coastal districts of Bangladesh on November 15, killing almost 4,000 people and leaving millions homeless and short of basic staples, especially rice, it reported.
Based on initial estimates, about 1.0 million hectares of rice were also affected because of the super cyclone, the publication added.
Meanwhile, considering the country's large quantity of food grains shortfall, the government had earlier sought 0.5 million tonnes of food aid from the international community.
In response to the government's appeal, different donors and countries have, so far, committed around 0.3 million tonnes of food grains to help Bangladesh mitigate its current shortfall, officials said.
Apart from the donors' food assistance, the government is also trying to beef up its food grain stock through import for maintaining its overall food operations, they mentioned.
Currently, the government has a stock of over 0.6 million tonnes of food grains, including 0.21 million tonnes of wheat, sources said.
The government has already set the target of procuring about 2.3 million tonnes of food grain for the current fiscal year 2007-08.
Of the total, it has, so far, imported 0.57 million tonnes of food grains - both rice and wheat - while another 0.25 million tonnes is in the pipeline, officials said.
They also mentioned that negotiations are on with the Indian authorities on import of 0.5 million tonnes of rice under the official channel, officials said, expressing the hope that both the governments would soon reach an agreement to this effect.
On the other hand, the import of food grains under the private sector marked a significant rise despite the soaring prices of both rice and wheat in the international market.
Referring to statistics, a senior official said the private traders imported 2.3 million tonnes of food grains until January 25 of the current fiscal while the total private sector import was 2.4 million tonnes in the entire fiscal year 2006-07.
Apart from the imports, the government has also made extra efforts to mitigate the country's food grain shortfall through raising the production of 'Boro' rice by nearly 2.5 million tonnes this season.