SL Agritech to supply hybrid rice seeds to Bangladesh

MANILA, Philippines - Hybrid rice seeds producer SL Agritech Corp. is in talks with the Bangladesh Ministry of Agriculture for the supply of seeds for the production of high amylose rice.

The company announced over the weekend that the mission, led by Bangladesh Agricultural Minister Matias Chowdhurry, visited the company’s research center in Brgy. Oogong, Sta. Cruz, Laguna last May 23.

The mission includes representatives from Bangladesh-based Stress Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia (Strasa) and officials from different cities and municipalities of Bangladesh like Tangail, Barisal, and Rangpur.

SL Agritech currently supplies SL-8H seeds to Bangladesh. The rice variety which yields 10 metric tons (MT) per hectare has enabled the company to corner 20 percent of the hybrid rice seeds market in Bangladesh.

Bangdesh is interested in expanding its cooperation with SL Agritech through the supply of rice seeds for cultivating high amylose rice which is used to make parboiled rice, a major export commodity of the country.

Parboiled rice is boiled in the husk before milling, raising the nutrition content of the grain. Parboiling originated in India but has spilled over to Bangladesh where is had remained a tradition.

SL Agritech is one of the large hybrid rice producer in the country which also produces the Dona Maria brand of premium rice Miponica and Jasponica.

The company has various partnerships for hybrid rice seed production in Asian nations such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Cambodia.

The company has not yet made a commitment to the Bangladeshi government but is studying the possibility of adding a new variety of hybrid rice to be produced in Bangladesh. “We’re very happy their minister of Agriculture visited us.  We’re the biggest in hybrid rice seed in Bangladesh,” said SLAC Chairman Henry Lim Bon Liong.

Bangladesh is also exploring use of more stress-tolerant rice varieties like drought tolerance.

Bangladesh, like the Philippines, is now attempting to regain foothold in rice exportation after several years of importing round 500,000 metric tons MT annually. Its imports peaked to 1.48 million MT in 2011.