Letters of credit (L/Cs) should be made more available to food importers in Bangladesh to help alleviate food shortages there caused by flooding brought by torrential rains.

Floods have seriously disrupted several parts of the country and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

Expert advice

An expert group brought together to discuss the crisis by the non-government think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has initiated the call for more available L/Cs.

"Energetic steps should be taken to encourage private food grain importers to open L/Cs," the group said in a statement. It also suggested the government should convene meetings with importers and bankers "to address this issue urgently".

Extensive damage

In Bangladesh floods have inundated the capital, Dhaka, forcing many to flee their homes.

An estimated 300,000 people have been moved into refugee camps and conditions in shelters are very poor.

Banks' role

The CPD has also said that banks should play a key role in rehabilitation efforts.

The government should be involved in this process too they say, and should particularly focus on encouraging private sector banks to enhance flows of rural credit along with specialised government banks.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or any of the other partners in DC-PRO.