Bangladesh has yet to avail itself of the European Union's least developed country (LDC) duty-free rice quota facility, an official document says.

The Bangladesh mission in Brussels in a letter to the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) recently has requested to encourage the local rice exporters to utilize the EU quota which is 5062 MT for 2006-07.

Meanwhile, the FBCCI, the country's apex trade body, has circulated the information among the potential rice exporters of Bangladesh with a view to encouraging them to take initiatives for exporting rice to Europe.