OPPOSITION LEADER WARNS OF FAMINE IN BANGLADESH
The failure of the Bangladesh government
to tackle the country's current food crisis could lead to a
famine, the leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Khaleda
Zia, told a press conference yesterday.
    Prices of rice rose by at least 25 pct across the country
in March and the government has begun emergency rice and wheat
sales to lower cereal prices, a food ministry report said.
    Ministry officials said the next harvest, due in mid-April
will ease the situation. "Temporary grain shortage in the arid
north and some other rain-starved regions is not unusual at
this time of the year," one official said.
    Khaleda, said corrupt practices by food officials and
failure to procure enough grains contributed to the crisis. Her
remarks coincided with newspaper reports that a continuing heat
wave has destroyed thousands of acres of crops in the
south-west.
    Officials said last week Bangladesh now has only 390,000
tonnes of grain in stock which would be exhausted in two or
three weeks. Bangladesh expects to produce 14.5 mln tonnes of
rice and 1.5 mln tonnes of wheat in 1986/87 ending June 30. It
revised its food import target for this fiscal year upward by
300,000 tonnes to 1.8 mln.
 REUTER
