India To Export 50,000 MT To Bangladesh

The Indian government has finalized a deal to export 50,000 MT of rice to neighboring Bangladesh as part of a sovereign commitment to ease Bangladesh's domestic rice crisis.

 India currently enforces a ban on the export of non-basmati rice but this isn't applicable to exports by government agencies to Bangladesh and other countries in need of the grain for immediate needs.

 This is in addition to the 400,000 MT export deal inked April 4 between Bangladesh and four Indian government agencies.

Bangladesh is facing an acute rice crisis because of a production loss due to floods last year, while India's rice production is expected to reach an all-time high of 95.68 million MT in the crop year ending June 2008.