26,250 tonnes of rice from Pakistan reaches Bangladesh port

ISLAMABAD: Bangladesh has received 26,250 tonnes of atap rice purchased from Pakistan under government-to-government (G-to-G) deal, with the final consignment reaching the destination on Friday, official sources told The News on Saturday.

This is the first-ever purchase of rice under G-to-G deal between the two countries since the creation of Bangladesh in 1971.

Atap rice is “unpolished rice,” and it is a traditional type of rice that undergoes minimal processing, allowing it to keep its natural nutrients and bran.

It is the last phase of 50,000 tonnes of rice supplied by Pakistan under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) and Directorate of Food, Bangladesh, on January 31 this year.

The sources pointed out that a ship MV Mariam, carrying 26,250 tonnes, arrived at the outer anchorage of Chattogram port on March 11 while it berthed at a port jetty on Friday, where unloading commenced the same day.

Pakistan and Bangladesh resumed direct trade after more than 54 years. The authorities that control the movement and storage at Chattogram under the Bangladesh Directorate of Food have confirmed the unloading.

After quality test of the sample collected from the ship, unloading of rice was started. Bangladesh received 26,250 tonnes of atap rice as the first shipment of the deal on March 5. The price of the rice is at US$499 per tonnes as per the agreement, the sources added.