http://www.newagebd.com/2008/jun/13/front.html#e2

New Age, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Friday, June 13, 2008

Rice import bills to reach $900 million
By Sheikh Shahariar Zaman

Rice import bills may swell to $900 million in the current fiscal year
[2007-08] as the government and traders purchased about 2.2 million
tonnes of rice to meet food supply shortage.

Massive crop losses caused by twin floods and cyclone Sidr last
year necessitated the huge food imports, Bangladesh Bank sources said.

About $840 million was spent on rice import in the July-May period
of the current fiscal, while it was only $142 million to import 0.6
million tonnes of rice in the same period of the last fiscal,
according to central bank data.

Rice import declined after the boro harvest began in April and
might remain slow in coming months, said a central banker.

Inflated import payments for food and other essential commodities
put pressure on the balance of payments, but robust remittance inflow
and rebound in the export sector helped the country absorb the shocks,
he said.

The balance of payment surplus dipped to $215 million in July-April
period this fiscal, from $809 million in the same period last year.

During the first 10 months of the outgoing fiscal year, over $2.2
billion was spent on imports of consumer items including rice, wheat,
milk food and edible oils. The amount was $1.1 billion in the year-ago
period, central bank figures showed.

The country spent $660 million on 1.39 million tonnes of wheat,
while import of 0.64 million tonnes of sugar cost $432 million and
0.86 million tonnes edible oils $888 million.