Bangladesh has moved to return, or begun the process of returning, a consignment of about 11,500 metric tonnes of Indian non-basmati parboiled rice after quality concerns were raised.
The shipment reached Chattogram port on 21 July.
An initial sample collected on 22 July was certified as fit for human consumption, and unloading was subsequently permitted.
About 3,500 metric tonnes were unloaded from the vessel before questions arose over the remainder of the cargo.
Part of the unloaded rice was sent to central storage depots in Tejgaon, Halishahar and Dewanhat, while some was sent to local storage in Joydebpur.
On 25 July, officials at the Tejgaon and Halishahar facilities said the rice was of poor quality and not fit for consumption.
Further unloading was halted, and the full consignment was set to be sent back to India.
The procurement route remains unclear: the transaction is described as a government-to-government agreement in one account and as an international-tender purchase from multinational-company stocks in another.
Unnamed Indian traders alleged that political considerations and internal disputes within Bangladesh’s food administration contributed to the rejection.
No laboratory findings, formal quality benchmarks or official explanation establishing the reason for the rejection are included in the evidence.