For the first time in fifty years, Bangladesh has resumed direct trade with Pakistan, marked by the arrival of a 50,000-ton rice shipment from Karachi under a government-to-government agreement.

Under this agreement, Bangladesh is purchasing white rice from Pakistan at $499 per ton through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan. The shipment will be delivered in two phases, with the remaining 25,000 tons expected in early March. However, this price is higher than the $474.25 per ton rate for Vietnamese rice that Bangladesh has been importing.

To stabilize domestic rice prices, which have surged by 15-20 percent in recent months, the Bangladeshi government is expanding imports and removing import duties. Authorities have also invited bids for another 50,000 tons of rice to be exported from Pakistan.