Bangladesh soughts secured supply of seven essential items from India

AIR PICS

Bangladesh has sought a secured supply from India for seven essential items including wheat, rice, lentils, sugar, onion, garlic, and ginger. In the latest attempt in this regard, Bangladesh’s Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Friday urged his Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal for the secured supply prior to the scheduled Commerce and Investment Ministers’ meeting of the G20 in Jaipur, India. 

Since the outbreak of the Ukraine-Russia war, Bangladesh’s supply chain has been disrupted and it has been grappling with high food inflation. For each year, Bangladesh is asking from India for a secured supply of 45 lakh tonnes of wheat, 7 lakh tonnes of onion, 30,000 tonnes of lentils, 20 lakh tonnes of rice, 15 lakh tonnes of sugar, 10,000 tonnes of garlic, and 1.25 lakh tonnes of ginger.

According to media reports in Bangladesh, India considers the quantity being sought by Bangladesh as too high compared to the current export level from India, so it suggested that Bangladesh review the proposed quota on the seven food items.

In this regard, the Bangladesh side is expecting a commerce secretary-level meeting this month to assess Bangladesh’s demand and India’s readiness to give the guarantee. Moreover, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is also scheduled to visit India to attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September is also a good hope for the Bangladesh side.