Bangladesh’s state grains buyer has issued another international tender to purchase 50,000 tonnes of rice. The tender deadline is August 08. Earlier, Bangladesh had also issued a separate tender for 50,000 tonnes of rice closing on July 27. This is the sixth rice tender issued by state grains agency since May while it is also importing rice in state-to-state deals. Bangladesh, the world’s fourth-biggest rice producer, has emerged as a major importer of the grain this year due to depleted stocks and record local prices following floods which damaged crops. The country could import as much as 1.2 million tonnes this year, and has so far struck deals with Vietnam and expressed interest in Thai and Indian rice. But the country’s government could suspend a plan to import rice from India due to high prices while a deal with Thailand edged closer. Bangladesh is buying 200,000 tonnes of Vietnamese white rice at $430 a tonne and 50,000 tonnes of parboiled rice at $470 a tonne in a state-to-state deal – at rates much higher than in the previous tenders.