Bangladesh’s latest effort to secure rice supplies is facing mounting criticism after the government approved a high-cost import deal routed through Dubai — a country that does not produce rice but re-exports it after purchasing from India.
The Directorate General of Food has awarded a contract to the UAE-based company M/s Cridant One FZCO, under which Bangladesh will spend approximately 2.1647 billion taka to bring in 50,000 metric tons of parboiled rice.
The Costly Detour
Available data confirms that India is the actual source of the rice. Cridant One FZCO will import the rice from India and then ship it to Bangladesh after adding its profit margin. Analysts say this unnecessary middle step has inflated costs by adding commissions, UAE storage fees, and extra transport expenses — all ultimately paid from Bangladesh’s public funds.
A Food Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the tender was conducted through an international bidding process and the Dubai firm emerged as the lowest bidder. But experts argue that if the so-called “lowest price” is higher than direct sourcing from India, the procurement logic becomes questionable.
Economists fear that Bangladesh is paying well above the international market price due to such questionable arrangements.
“When the product is coming from India, why are we paying a commission to a company in Dubai? This is clearly a waste of state funds,”
— Professor Dr. Abu Ahmed, Economics Department, University of Dhaka
He added that direct government-to-government procurement or open tenders with Indian suppliers could have saved at least USD 10–15 per ton, preventing millions in public funds from leaking abroad as middlemen profits.
Accountability Questions Intensify
Dubai is undoubtedly a major re-export hub in global trade. Yet the use of intermediaries in essential food imports has triggered strong criticism inside Bangladesh. Analysts suspect such procurement structures create opportunities for inflated pricing and hidden financial gains under the guise of urgent food security needs.
With public money now being spent on Indian rice that travels an unnecessary detour through Dubai, pressure is rising on the government — particularly the Ministry of Food — to explain who benefits from this arrangement and why it was approved.
As Bangladesh rushes to replenish its grain reserves, a crucial question looms: has the urgency to boost supply become an excuse to waste hundreds of crores from the state treasury? Calls for transparency are only growing louder.
