Govt to import two lakh tonnes of rice

19 January 2011, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

The government will import two lakh tonnes of rice from Thailand this year to increase food reserve in the country. “Thailand has agreed in principle to export 200,000 tonnes of rice to Bangladesh,” said Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzaque. The rice would be bought through government-to-government negotiation, he said to reporters after a meeting with a Thai delegation at his Secretariat office yesterday. The minister said a Bangladesh delegation will soon visit Thailand to finalise the terms and conditions of the agreement to import rice. The 14-member delegation led by Thai Commerce Minister Prontiva Nakasai called on the food minister. Razzaque said issues of mutual interest were discussed in the meeting.