Bangladeshi govt want to reduce lentil price

The government has decided to import lentils from neighbouring Nepal to stabilize its price in the local market, said sources. 'The government of Nepal has decided sell red lentil to Bangladesh,' said a senior official of the commerce ministry, adding that the price is yet to be negotiated. 'We expect that its price will be reduced by Tk 20 to Tk 25 per kg from the current level when the Nepalese lentil reaches the market,' he added. Good-quality red lentil, which cost Tk 120 even a month back, is now selling at Tk 135 per kg in the local market. Besides, the government has also planned to import of 13 lakh tonnes of soybean and 12,500 tonnes of sugar from Malaysia and Brazil. Sources said the government of Nepal agreed to sell 14,750 tonnes of red lentil to Bangladesh only after persuasion. Nepal and India have banned pulse export due to low production of the crop. However, commerce minister Faruk Khan, at the WTO ministerial meeting, had a fruitful discussion with his Nepalese counterpart. Khan sought to procure 30,000 tonnes of red lentil, but the Nepalese commerce minister agreed to supply only 14,750 tonnes of pulse to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh. Of the total quantity of 14,750 tonnes of red lentil, the Nepal Trading Corporation will supply 5,000 tonnes and 9,750 tonnes will be supplied by a private company named Salt Trading Ltd. The consignment from Nepal will reach the country by mid-January, and the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh will sell the item through its distributors, said a source at the TCB. A three-member team will go to Kathmandu on 5 January, 2010 to hammer out the final agreement, and the price is expected to be much lower than local rates. The team will lead by the joint secretary to the commerce ministry, Mustafa Mohiuddin. Uttam Kumar Deb, additional director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, told New Age that the country has produced enough lentil to satisfy only one-third of the local demand, so its import is necessary to reduce its price in the local market.