Bangladesh rejected a shipment of 11,500 tonnes of parboiled rice from India after officials raised concerns about its quality, prompting fresh debate among Indian traders.
Some members of India’s rice trade attributed the rejection to politics after the BNP government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman took office in Bangladesh. The traders did not provide evidence for that assessment.
Indian newspaper The Hindu BusinessLine reported that the shipment reached Chattogram port July 21. Questions were raised about the rice’s quality, but a sample collected July 22 was tested and certified safe for human consumption. The rice had been imported under a government-to-government agreement between Bangladesh and India.
After the certification, the vessel received permission to unload and part of the shipment was discharged July 23 and 24. Some of the rice went to central storage depots in Tejgaon, Halishahar and Dewanhat, while another portion went to a local storage depot in Joydebpur.
Officials in Tejgaon and Halishahar said July 25 that the rice was poor quality and unfit for human consumption. Local media reported that the food secretary and the director general of the Directorate General of Food were informed.
Indian traders questioned why Bangladesh had abruptly objected to the rice. One trader said India had supplied rice to Bangladesh for years and that Bangladesh returned to Indian suppliers after finding rice from Pakistan expensive late last year. The trader accused Bangladesh of playing a political game.
Another trader said such political maneuvering could continue but argued that Bangladesh might pay a high price during what the trader described as an El Niño year that could last longer than forecast. The traders spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The report said only 3,500 tonnes had been unloaded from the MV HT Pioneer before authorities stopped the rest. The first trader said the entire shipment was being returned to India but argued that rejecting one shipment would have little broader impact.
India and Bangladesh signed the government-to-government import agreement after an international tender in 2025. An Indian exporter sourced the rice from the stocks of a multinational company.
A third trader attributed the dispute to organizations within Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Food that the trader said had established monopoly control during Sheikh Hasina’s government. The trader alleged that rivals were now trying to break that control and that the Indian rice shipment had become an indirect casualty. The report did not independently substantiate the claim.
India exported 13.6 lakh tonnes, or 1.36 million tonnes, of non-basmati rice in the 2025-26 fiscal year, most of it parboiled rice, with a total value of US$545 million. It exported 8.09 lakh tonnes, or 809,000 tonnes, worth US$359 million in 2024-25. From April through June of the current fiscal year, it exported 1.6 lakh tonnes, or 160,000 tonnes, valued at US$8.19 million.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report