Chittagong Port has received 22,000 metric tonnes of Atap rice from Myanmar, transported by the MV Golden Star vessel.
The rice consignment, imported on a government-to-government basis, marks the first shipment of its kind under the current interim government, said the ministry of food in a media release on Friday.
It said that samples from the shipment would undergo physical testing before unloading begins and all necessary arrangements had already been made to ensure a smooth process. This shipment follows a separate agreement between Bangladesh and Pakistan to import rice.
On January 14, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the food ministry between the directorate general of food and Pakistan鈥檚 Trading Corporation.
Abdul Khalek, director general of the directorate general of food, and Syed Rafi Bashir Shah, chairman of TCP, signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations.
According to sources at the directorate general of food, the procurement process would commence following approval from the government鈥檚 purchase committee.
Shipments from Pakistan are expected to begin arriving by February.
