I am Nafees Imtiaz from Bangladesh. You all know that our coubntry man severely attackted with SIDR, cyclone. So our crop production hampered and so we have shortage of rice. Our neighbour country increase the price of rice crop on immediate effect. Should they do it??? Now we r trying to import rice from Vietnam. Inshallah we will overcome these problem with the grace of almighty Allah.

Nafees Imtiaz Islam
Dhaka, Bangladesh

The government will provide 5.70 lakh poorer families with food grains for five months under VGF programme and import 1 lakh tonnes of rice from Vietnam as part of its efforts to tackle the ongoing crisis.

A meeting of the advisory council chaired by Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed yesterday also decided that under open market sale (OMS), 45,000 metric tons of rice would be sold at Tk 25 a kg throughout January.

Meanwhile, rice prices on both retail and wholesale markets yesterday marked a further drop. Retailers sold the staple at a price down by Tk 2-3 a kg, but it was still far from what is needed to ease public sufferings due to exorbitant prices, said market sources.

In another development, the Committee on Public Purchase has approved a proposal to buy 75,000 tonnes of rice from the international market, Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam told reporters yesterday.

Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury in a press release the same day said Vietnam has decided to sell rice to Bangladesh though the country itself was badly hit by floods this year.

Quoting the Bangladesh ambassador in Hanoi, he said, “Vietnam may be able to sell 20,000 tonnes immediately. Procurement of the rest will follow the harvest in February-March. To finalise the matter, a visit by a technical team from Dhaka may be necessary.”

Earlier on Saturday, the chief adviser announced that the government has been working to import 10 lakh tonnes of rice from India, Thailand and Myanmar.

The announcement to import from Vietnam comes after the decision to import 1-2 lakh tonnes from Thailand, for which tenders have already been invited.

The advisory council yesterday also discussed rationing food for the middle class. It decided to assign two officials in every district to make sure agricultural inputs like fertiliser, seeds and irrigation facilities reach the farmers timely for Boro cultivation, said meeting sources.

Meanwhile, a high-level government delegation is set to visit New Delhi to finalise the deal to purchase 5 lakh tonnes of rice from India by January 10.

According to the advisory committee on purchase decisions yesterday, Mannan and Brothers will import 50,000 metric tons of non-basmati rice at the cost of $1.98 crore while Mabco Foods will import 25,000 metric tons at the cost of $96.8 lakh.

PRICES SITUATION
Wholesalers yesterday said the price of Swarna, a variety imported from India, marked the largest decrease. It came down from Tk 1,250 per maund Thursday to Tk 1,100 per maund yesterday.

The price of Guti, another variety, came down to Tk 1,100 from Tk 1,150 per maund while IRRI to Tk 1,080 from Tk 1,120. Prices of Nazirshail and Miniket fell by up to Tk 50 per maund.

Wholesalers said they were forced to sell at lower prices because of dwindling number of customers even though price was still high at the rice mills.

In the retail markets, the price of coarse rice dropped by at least Tk 2-3 per kilogram. Customers continued avoiding the retail outlets even after prices began to come down Saturday.

Retailers said most of the middle income group people have built up a large stock after prices soared every day over the last week.

Some people told The Daily Star yesterday that they would wait for the prices to come down after open market sale (OMS) starts on January 9.

Queues at the BDR-run fair price shops were relatively short yesterday as many people have decided to wait for the OMS, said sources.

Flour prices went up by Tk 2 per kilogram as packs of two kilogram were selling at Tk 86-88, up from Tk 82-84 two days ago.

Source: The Daily Star, Bangladesh

Bangladesh has a good chance of exporting generic drugs and non-prescribed medicines to Japan as companies in the world’s second largest economy focus on producing new patent protected drugs.

“Japanese companies produce only five percent of generic products of its total annual output which creates vacuum for companies from other countries,” Takanori Yurimoto, director of Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA), said at a meeting with Bangladesh’s commercial councilor to Japan.

A drug becomes generic when its patent rights expire. Generic drugs are cheap since manufacturers do not have to bear investment costs of developers. New drugs are developed under patent protections.

A foreign applicant needs to submit necessary data to qualify for Japanese market to Japanese Government Agency, Yurimoto said, adding that the agency examine the data relating to factory outline, equipment, manufacturing practices, personnel, post marketing safety and clinical trial.

JPMA, a volunteer organisation, helps developing countries establish efficient drug administrations apart from developing distribution and quality control systems through training and funds.

The Bangladesh commercial councilor to Japan, Abul Mansur Md Faizullah, met Yurimoto to find ways to promote Bangladeshi medicines to Japan.

Yurimoto also said Bangladeshi drug manufacturers need to comply with all the government policy directives in addition to the requirements made by private entities like hospital authorities and doctors’ association.

Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) President SM Shafiuzzaman said Bangladeshi companies have the ability to comply with all standards requirement in any country.

Shafiuzzaman said Bangladeshi companies are interested to make inroad into Japanese pharmaceutical market.

Bangladesh exported pharmaceutical products worth US$28.15 million to around 65 countries in 2006-07 fiscal year.

Poverty alleviation is a major issue in Pakistan. It needs to be tackled on a high priority. There are many ways to minimize poverty which is estimated to be around 30%-33% of the total population. The following steps need immediate attention.

1. Establishing vocational and occupational training centres throughout the country to impart training to produce electricians, plumbers, carpenters, motor mechanics, airconditioning mechanics, masons, tailors etc. The skilled persons will have the options of serving in the country or going abroad.

2. Prohibiting child labour by allowing subsistence allowance to families who depend on the earnings of their children and sending their children to school for general education upto primary or middle and vocational training thereafter.

3. Encouraging womenfolk to learn and earn from working at home and producing items that can be sold out in the market through third party outlets such as garments, handicrafts, dupattas etc. The women can be trained to become tailors and work at home.

4. Providing subsidized food, housing, transport, medical aid, education etc. to eligible families and helping them improve their lot.

5. Encouraging education of girls to become teachers, nurses, social welfare workers or doing work at home which could help them earn for their families.

With a vision of “a just, enlightened, healthy and democratic Bangladesh free from hunger, poverty, environmental degradation and all forms of exploitation based on age, sex, religion and ethnicity,” BRAC started as an almost entirely donor funded, small-scale relief and rehabilitation projet to help the country overcome the devastation and trauma of the Liberation War. Today, BRAC has emerged as an independent, virtually self-financed paradigm in sustainable human development. It is the largest in the world employing 97,192 people, with the twin objectives of poverty alleviation and empowerment of the poor. Through experiential learning, BRAC today provides and protects livelihoods of around 100 million people in Bangladesh. Diagnosing poverty in human terms and recognising its multidimensional nature, BRAC approaches poverty alleviation with a holistic approach. BRAC’s outreach covers all 64 districts of the country and furthermore, has been called upon to assist a number of countries including Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
From the time of its modest inception in 1972, BRAC recognised women as the primary caregivers who would ensure the education of their children and the subsequent inter-generational sustainability of their families and households. Its comprehensive approach combines Microfinance under BRAC’s Economic Development programme with Health, Education and other Social Development programmes, linking all the programmes strategically to counter poverty through livelihood generation and protection

Launched in December 1997, BRAC Solar Energy Programme for Sustainable Development was registered under BRAC Foundation, to work on the Renewable Energy Sector. BRAC recognised the need of the poor rural people of light and power, and also realised the crisis and impending shortage of natural gas facing Bangladesh with the import bill over 70% of the country’s total export earnings. The only sizable fossil fuel reserve of natural gas is likely to be exhausted by year 2010. BRAC also recognised a viable solution to this crisis in Bangladesh’s virtually untapped renewable energy. An integrated and multi purpose programme, its projects spread across the country in a wide variety of settings, including households, BRAC and other NGO offices, training centres, schools, health clinics, cyclone shelters, a weather monitoring station, a government rest house and income generating centres such as carpentry, tailoring shops, cloth dyeing and printing shops, leather workshops, restaurants and grocery shops. The
programme has the following objectives:

To change the living and social status of rural people
To conserve the environment
Self Dependency
To meet the demand of the electricity in rural and remote and off-grid areas
To increase the working hour as well as the education hour
To change the economy of the society by pursuing modern approach through TV, Radio, etc.
To develop awareness about Photo Voltaic (PV) technology.

In the year 2004, BRAC Foundation installed 4,840 Solar Home Systems. It has received refinancing from IDCOL amounting to Tk 49,149,122 and a grant of Tk 21,246,717.

ABOUT BRAC

BRAC has set the gold standard for developing communities. Over the years, they have set off a unique chain reaction for good. BRAC is a model for the entire world.
Dr. Nils Daulaire, President, Global Health Council

Since BRACs modest inception as a small-scale relief rehabilitation project in 1972, BRAC has grown into one of the worlds largest non-profit organizations with over 40,000 full-time staff and over 160,000 paraprofessionals, 72% of which are women. BRACs annual budget is over USD 430 million, 78% of which is self-financed, and BRACs microfinance program, with 6 million borrowers, has cumulatively disbursed USD 4 billion. More than 1.5 million children are currently enrolled in 52,000 BRACs schools and over 3 million have already graduated. BRACs health program reaches over 100 million people in Bangladesh with basic healthcare services and programs for TB, Malaria and HIV/ AIDS.

BRAC is in business to end poverty. It employs a holistic approach to alleviating poverty by integrating its core programs (health, education and microfinance) with strategic linkages and constant evolution. BRAC works with people whose lives are dominated by extreme poverty, illiteracy, disease and other constraints. With multifaceted development interventions, BRAC strives to foster education, create wealth, better health and improve their quality of life.

BRAC actively promotes human rights, dignity and gender equality through building the social, economic, political and human capacity of people living in poverty. By organizing people for power through village organizations, BRAC provides ladders of opportunity for the poor to access credit and other services and break out of the cycle of poverty and despair. To scale its impact, BRAC partners with the community, like-minded organizations, government institutions, the private sector, and development partners to influence policies, programs and practices.

BRAC is committed to sustainability. It makes its programs socially, financially and environmentally sustainable, using business models, innovative methods and technologies. BRACs growth and programs reflect its responsiveness to the needs of the poor and deep knowledge about development. Those living in poverty want more and better options, and they are willing to pay for it.

BRAC is now global. It now works in six countries outside of Bangladesh. With its own resources, BRAC began in Afghanistan in 2002 and is now the largest microfinance, health, education and other service provider in the country. In response to the devastating tsunami in 2004, BRAC started work in Sri Lanka. Emboldened by their early success, BRAC decided to expand globally to help other poor countries and in 2006 it established programs in Tanzania, and Uganda. In 2007, it began in Southern Sudan and is now registered in Pakistan.

At the Clinton Global Initiative last year, BRAC committed to raise at least $250 million over the next 10 years to support the development of BRAC organizations in at least five African countries. BRAC UK and BRAC USA were created as partners to raise awareness, cultivate partnerships and mobilize resources in support of BRACs global expansion. By creating a global network that share values and vision, BRAC seeks to bring together knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurship to build scalable, sustainable solutions to marginalization, poverty, disease, illiteracy and environmental degradation.

Oil prices fell on Monday, extending the previous session’s decline, as the market mulled over gloomy U.S. economic data and the impact on demand should the world’s top energy consumer slip into recession later this year.

U.S. light crude for February delivery eased 54 cents to $97.37 a barrel by 4:55 a.m. EST, extending Friday’s $1.27 decline.

London Brent crude fell 12 cents to $96.67.

Oil has eased from a record peak of $100.09 a barrel last Thursday after a government report showed the U.S. unemployment rate up 5 percent in December, its highest in more than two years.

The bleak unemployment report was the latest signal that top energy consumer the United States could fall into a recession later this year.