Summary:
- A bulk carrier, MV SIBI, arrived at Chattogram port today with 26,250 tonnes of atap rice from Pakistan, marking the first rice shipment from Pakistan since Bangladesh’s Liberation War.
- The shipment is part of a government-to-government deal under an MoU signed in January between Bangladesh’s Directorate of Food and Pakistan’s Trading Corporation for 50,000 tonnes of rice.
- Authorities are conducting quality tests on the rice at the Regional Food Testing Laboratory in Halishahar before beginning the unloading process.
- Another consignment of rice is expected to arrive on March 10, with senior officials set to inspect the unloading tomorrow.
A bulk carrier transporting 26,250 tonnes of rice from Pakistan docked at Chattogram port today, marking the first shipment of rice from Pakistan to Bangladesh since the Liberation War. The vessel, MV SIBI, arrived at the port’s outer anchorage at approximately 2:00 a.m. before berthing at Jetty No. 1 of the Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT) around 4:00 p.m., according to the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA).
The shipment is part of a government-to-government agreement between Bangladesh and Pakistan under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in January. The Directorate of Food, Bangladesh, and the Trading Corporation of Pakistan agreed to procure a total of 50,000 tonnes of atap rice. This initial consignment was priced at $499 per tonne, said Gnana Priya Bidurshi Chakma, controller of movement and storage in Chattogram.
The ship departed from Karachi’s Port Qasim last week and represents a significant milestone in bilateral trade between the two countries. Authorities have collected samples from the imported rice and will send them to the Regional Food Testing Laboratory in Halishahar, Chattogram, for quality assessment. Unloading will commence after receiving the test results, Bidurshi added.
Another vessel carrying the second consignment is expected to arrive on March 10 as part of the ongoing agreement. Md Abul Hasanath Humayun Kabir, director general of the Directorate of Food, is scheduled to visit Chattogram port tomorrow to oversee the unloading process.
This shipment underscores efforts by Bangladesh to secure food supplies through international partnerships amid rising global demand for staple commodities.
