Dhaka, Aug. 17 -- Bangladesh imported rice worth approximately US$700 million in the last fiscal year (FY25), marking a nearly 2,600 per cent increase over the previous year, according to Bangladesh Bank data.

Officials at the Directorate General of Food (DG Food) told The Financial Express on Saturday that both public and private sector rice imports reached record highs in several years, aimed at replenishing food reserves and stabilising markets amid rising inflationary pressures.

"There were three consecutive floods in the last fiscal year that wiped out more than 1.0 million tonnes of rice production," said a senior official at the DG Food procurement unit.

"Such high imports are unlikely this fiscal year as domestic rice productio...