The government on Tuesday approved the import of 50,000 metric tonnes of non-Basmati parboiled rice through international open tender for FY26 to strengthen food supplies before Ramadan.
The approval came at a Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) meeting chaired by Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed at the Secretariat. The Food Ministry proposal, to be executed by the Directorate General of Food, involves a cost of Tk 216.90 crore, with M/S Aditya Birla Global Trading (Singapore) Pte Ltd selected as the supplier at US$354.19 per tonne.
Dr Salehuddin told reporters that the government has already begun importing rice and wheat to stabilise the market, and that Bangladesh Bank has relaxed LC rules to help keep prices tolerable during Ramadan.
Earlier, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a separate Food Ministry proposal to import 300,000 MT of wheat through international open tender under a government-to-government process, in line with the Public Procurement Act 2006 and Public Procurement Rules 2025.
The committee also gave in-principle approval to shorten procurement timelines for another 300,000 MT of rice to be imported through international tender due to urgent operational needs and rising domestic demand.
Additionally, the committee approved a major Local Government Division initiative, endorsing Package HELP/UN-1 under the World Bank– and government-funded HELP project, allowing the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to be directly engaged as the implementing UN agency through the Direct Selection method.
