Bangladesh's wheat imports could nearly triple to 3 million tonnes in the current calendar year following lower prices in world markets, port officials and traders said on Wednesday. The import of the commodity was some 1.03 million tonnes in 2008, the year of the global food crunch and high prices, against 1.81 million tonnes in the previous year.
"Over 2.8 million tonnes of wheat have so far been imported in the current year and we expect more imports by end December," an official of the country's main Chittagong port said. The government food department is looking to buy some 400,000 tonnes of wheat via international tenders issued between September to early October.
A good harvest in most wheat producing countries this year meant the cost had come down to an acceptable level of around $220 per tonne, traders said. Like previous years, the bulk of the cargo was imported by the private sector. The state-owned food department bought some 130,000 tonnes during the past nearly 10 months. In 2008 wheat flour was sold at around 50 taka ($0.72) per kg in Bangladesh, but the price has fallen to 32 taka now.
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