VZCZCXRO1797
PP RUEHCI
DE RUEHKA #1882/01 3370810
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 030810Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY DHAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5707
INFO RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 0959
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 8197
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 1926
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 9403
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1755
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0332
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 0364
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 1041

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DHAKA 001882 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PASS TO: USAID/ANE MARK WARD, USAID/DCHA/FFP, USAID/OFDA; 
EMBASSY NEW DELHI: AGRICULTURE COUNSELOR HOLLY HIGGINS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/03/2022 
TAGS: EAGR ECON POL BG
SUBJECT: FOOD SITUATION - CDA, A.I. MEETING WITH FOOD AND 
DISASTER MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS 
 
REF: DHAKA 1836 
 
Classified By: CDA a.i. Geeta Pasi for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: CDA a.i. and ADCM met with the top civilian 
officials of Bangladesh,s Ministry of Food and Disaster 
Management. They reviewed current food shortage statistics 
and causes.  The GoB officials explained that without 
sufficient Government food stocks, open market prices for 
grain are susceptible to opportunistic price gouging by 
traders. A lack of clarity remains on the level, timing, and 
modalities of food aid from other countries. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) CDA a.i. and ADCM met on December 2 with Tapan 
Chowdhury, the Adviser responsible for the Ministry of Food 
and Disaster Management (MFDM), and Dr. Ayub Miah, the MFDM 
Secretary. Chowdhury thanked the CDA a.i. for the USG,s 
 
SIPDIS 
prompt assistance in response to Cyclone Sidr,s 
devastation(REFTEL).  Chowdhury said that Adviser M.A. Matin, 
who is coordinating relief activities in Barisal, has been 
complimentary regarding the U.S. assistance. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The CDA a.i. updated the Adviser on the progress of 
joint U.S.-Bangladesh relief operations. The CDA a.i. 
explained that the US military,s unique humanitarian 
response capabilities will only be available for a limited 
period of time, and that it is crucial for the Government of 
Bangladesh to take full advantage of these capabilities while 
they are present. 
 
¶4. (C) Chowdhury explained that the GOB is focused on 
providing relief in the most effective manner possible. 
Chowdhury said that he would be heading to Barisal for a 
two-day visit to the cyclone-affected areas and to directly 
observe the relief operations.  Chowdhury complained that 
some politicians and media outlets sought to create a 
controversy over the presence of the US military for the 
humanitarian mission, but he also dismissed these groups as 
fringe elements. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Turning to the food situation, Chowdhury said that 
food shortages are ¬hing new8 in Bangladesh.   The 
current situation is that action is needed now to avoid a 
future crisis with Bangladesh,s national food security 
reserve, the Public Food Distribution System (PFDS). 
Chowdhury said that those affected by the cyclone would be 
eligible for the PFDS emergency safety net activity now and 
the Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) program until March. 
After March, cyclone affected populations would be able to 
benefit from the PFDS,s Open Market Sales (OMS) program. 
(Comment: In addition to timely response to emergency 
situations, the PFDS also serves to stabilize domestic food 
grain prices to prevent excessive price hikes. End Comment.) 
¶6. (SBU) Chowdhury explained that because of losses from this 
year,s two earlier seasonal floods, the GOB had only been 
able to procure locally 700,000 Metric tons (MT) of food out 
of its 1,200,000 MT target for supplying the PFDS. As a 
result of the cyclone, the anticipated procurement from the 
next crop will be down by 200,000  MT, leaving a net deficit 
of 700,000 MT for local procurement. 
 
¶7. (C) The GOB is concerned that if it draws down its food 
stocks, grain traders will take advantage of the situation by 
engaging in price gouging. He said that the GOB needs to 
maintain 800,000 MT of food in its PFDS stocks at all times, 
and the current stock level was 742,000 MT.  Chowdhury noted 
that the GOB (through the PFDS) only supplies 20% of the food 
demand, with the remainder supplied by the private sector. 
 
¶8. (C) CDA a.i. asked Chowdhury about the announcement during 
the Indian Foreign Minister,s visit that India would allow 
the export of 500,000 MT of food to Bangladesh. Chowdhury 
welcomed India,s decision but confided that the GOB had 
requested from India a higher amount of 1,000,000 MT. 
 
¶9. (C) The Adviser told us that both the private and public 
sector would be able to import food from India under this new 
provision, and admitted that the private sector would be able 
to move more quickly. Chowdhury conceded that the  PFDS, 
procurement systems are very slow, and indicated that the GOB 
would likely waive the normal tender provisions. He 
 
DHAKA 00001882  002 OF 002 
 
 
anticipates that the private sector will import 300,000 MT 
from India, and the PFDS 200,000 MT. He said that unlike in 
the past, there are now a number of private traders with the 
capacity to import food quantities in the range of 20,000 to 
30,000 MT each. 
 
¶10. (C) When asked whether the GOB will accept the offer by 
the World Food Program (WFP) to procure food on its behalf, 
Dr. Miah said it was not likely.  Miah explained that the WFP 
charges a 12% overhead on purchases, and that it would be 
difficult for the GOB to allocate funds to the World Food 
Program for procurement.  Regarding the WFP,s worldwide 
appeal for food to address the immediate needs of the Cyclone 
Sidr victims, Chowdhury said the GOB would prefer the food 
not be procured in Bangladesh. The GOB prefers that donors 
procure food outside Bangladesh to avoid driving up domestic 
prices.  Chowdhury said it was still an open question whether 
WFP or other donor procurement of food from India would count 
toward India,s 500,000 MT ceiling announced during the 
Indian Foreign Minister,s visit. 
 
¶11. (C) The Adviser said that the GOB was still assessing 
what other donor contributions are forthcoming. The Indians 
had promised 50,000 MT, and Pakistan 10,000 MT, but it is not 
known when this aid will arrive.  He said that the Saudis 
promised $100 million in aid, of which 100,000 MT could be 
food. In the past, however, the Saudis procured food locally. 
The GOB is also considering importing food from Thailand and 
Pakistan. Thus far, the GOB has 100,000 MT of purchased food 
in the pipeline, and another 150,000 MT in process. 
Chowdhury shared the figures and calculations the GOB has 
used to derive the outstanding food requirement of 1,000,000 
MT. Of this total, he confirmed that the GOB was still 
seeking 500,000 MT of food aid from donors. 
 
¶12. (U) In response to the open-ended request for food 
assistance, we confirmed that USAID is looking closely at 
Bangladesh,s food requirements and that we are considering 
how we might help beyond the $15 million already announced. 
We suggested that our experts might need to talk further with 
the GOB to refine the requirements; the Adviser welcomed 
further inquiries from us. 
 
Pasi