Bangladesh : Decline in Aus rice production sparks food security concerns
Bangladesh’s Aus rice production fell to 28.82 lakh tonnes in FY 2024-25, missing the 38.37 lakh tonnes target due to erratic weather and rising input costs. Imports increased to 54,710 tonnes, but traders resist further imports due to high global prices. Despite reduced import duties, limited imports and stockpiling from Boro season have created a domestic market crisis.
Aus rice production in Bangladesh has gradually declined over the past four consecutive years, increasing the need for imports to ensure food security amid concerns about depleting foreign exchange reserves.
Erratic weather patterns, including floods in four phases, Cyclone Remal, and prolonged rainfall, have severely impacted Aus rice farming, which is highly dependent on favourable climate conditions.
According to the latest data from the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Aus rice production in the fiscal year 2024-25 has fallen short of the government-set target by over 9.547 lakh tonnes.
The total production reached 28.82 lakh tonnes, cultivated across 9.77 lakh hectares, below the target of 38.37 lakh tonnes from 13.07 lakh hectares. Additionally, around 65,000 hectares of Aus crops were damaged during the season.
Comparing previous years, Aus rice production stood at 29.73 lakh tonnes from 10.34 lakh hectares in FY 2024, 29 lakh tonnes from 10.61 lakh hectares in FY 2023, 30 lakh tonnes from 11.59 lakh hectares in FY 2022, and 32.85 lakh tonnes from 13.05 lakh hectares in FY 2021.
Jahangir Alam Khan, an agro-economist and researcher, told Daily Sun that the lower production of rice during the Aus season has created a crisis in the rice market due to adverse weather conditions.
“The government recently reduced the import duty on rice from 62% to just 2%, but traders are not importing rice because international prices are higher than in Bangladesh,” Khan explained.
He added that rice traders, millers, and wholesalers, who have already stocked paddy from the last Boro season, are not importing rice despite having import permits.
Increased input costs, such as fertilisers and pesticides, have further burdened farmers, making it difficult for them to maintain profitability.
As a result of the lower Aus rice production (1 July 2024 to 17 December 2024), Bangladesh had to import 54,710 tonnes of rice to meet local demand. In contrast, no rice imports were necessary in FY 2024, but 10.55 lakh tonnes were imported in FY 2023.
The government authorized 277 private organisations to import a total of 14.41 lakh tonnes of rice between 7 and 17 November 2024, in four phases, according to the Ministry of Food. However, by 17 December, only 54,710 tonnes had been imported, which is far below the permitted amount.
The rice imports, originally scheduled to be marketed between 10 and 22 December, have now been extended until 15 January 2025.
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Source : Daily Sun
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