Bangladesh to import another 50,000 tonne wheat

Bangladesh has cleared the import of another 50,000 tonnes of wheat this year in a bid to increase its reserves.

The Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase gave its permission to the procurement on Sunday (Nov 17), state news agency BSS reported.  

Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque told the media after the meeting that M/s Swiss Singapore Overseas Enterprises Pte Ltd will supply the wheat at $268.14 a tonne.

In October this year, Singapore-based trading house Agrocorp secured a tender to supply 50,000 tonnes of wheat to Bangladesh after submitting the lowest offer of $255.46 a tonne.

In July, Bangladesh approved an inter-state deal with Russia to purchase 100,000 tonnes of wheat.

Russian state firm Prodintorg would supply the wheat at $267.30 a tonne, which encompasses cost, insurance and freight, and other port-related expenses.

A report from the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in December 2018 estimated Bangladesh’s wheat import requirements in the 2018/19 season at a record high of about 6 million tonnes, some 34 percent above the previous five-year average following fixed increases since 2012/13, Reuters reported earlier this year. 

The strong demand for wheat reflects a shift in consumer preferences towards bread and increasing the use of wheat as a substitute for more expensive rice, the FAO said.