Bangladesh to import 100,000 tonnes of wheat from Russia

Bangladesh will pay $267.30 a tonne, which includes cost, insurance and freight, and other port-related expenses, two officials with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The price for Russian wheat in the Black Sea region, from where Bangladesh imports wheat as supply from India dwindled, was $195 per tonne for the 12.5% protein variety for February supply, on a free-on-board (FOB) basis at the end of last week, according to agricultural consultancy IKAR.

The import price is slightly lower than the lowest offer of $267.98 a tonne that the state grains buyer received in its last tender to buy 50,000 tonnes of wheat.

Bangladesh has been among the largest buyers of Russian wheat in recent years. It purchased 1.9 million tonnes of Russian wheat over the July 2018-May 2019 period.

The first batch of wheat arrives in the first week of July, one of the officials of the state grains buyer said.

Bangladesh last imported 200,000 tonnes of wheat from Russia in an inter-state deal in 2017 after Dhaka rejected three cargoes of Russian wheat totalling 150,000 tonnes over quality concerns.

Apart from government purchases, private traders import about 5.5 million tonnes of wheat annually to meet growing demand, while the country’s output has stagnated at about 1 million tonnes.

Source: Business Recorder