Bangladesh eyes higher rice yield if no floods

DHAKA, June 21 (Reuters) - Bangladesh said on Saturday if floods did not recur it would be able to produce surplus rice in the current season that started with the advent of monsoon last week.

"We have arranged supplementary measures to supply fertiliser and irrigation to the farms. But flooding may be a big challenge," C.S. Karim, agriculture adviser (minister) to the interim government told reporters.

The food ministry officials said Bangladesh fixed a target to produce more than 33 million tonnes of rice in the next financial year 2008-09 (July-June).

The Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre said although there was no immediate threat of floods, the situation might worsen if heavy downpours continue in the country and the ongoing floods prolonged in neighbouring India.

The calamity-prone South Asian country lost around 3 million tonnes of main staple rice due to twin floods and Cyclone Sidr last year.

The floods between July to September and the Cyclone Sidr that hit the country's coastal areas in November, together killed some 4,500 people, displaced millions and damaged infrastructure worth billions of dollars.

Despite natural disasters, rice production was likely to reach 30 million tonnes in the current financial year to June against a target of 33 million tonnes.

Farmers harvested some 19.5 million tonnes of boro, a principal rice variety, by mid-june, up from 15 million tonnes last year. It compares with an average annual total rice production of over 29 million tonnes, including aus and aman.

The country needs 24 million tonnes of rice annually to feed its population of roughly 150 million.