Bangladesh's state grains buyer will tender next week to buy 100,000 tonnes of wheat to replenish food reserves, a senior official said on Friday. "We are going to issue a tender to buy 100,000 tonnes of wheat next week and will issue tenders regularly to shore up our stocks as there is a demand for it," said the official of the Directorate General of Food.
Wheat consumption is going up in Bangladesh, home to 150 million people, who consume rice as staple. The government purchased 100,000 tonnes of wheat and signed deals to import 380,000 tonnes out of a targeted 750,000 tonnes in the year to June and another tender to buy 100,000 tonnes has been sent to the cabinet purchase committee for approval.
A tender to buy 70,000 tonnes, which closed on February 4, drew a low price of $243.44 per tonne including cost and freight, the official said, adding that they were checking other details. Another tender for 100,000 tonnes closes on February 9. Traders say Bangladesh, which imports around 2 million tonnes of wheat annually, is buying more this year because of lower global prices while domestic production is likely to stagnate at around 1 million tonnes.
Over the last six months, private importers bought around 1.8 million tonnes of wheat and in January opened letters-of-credit for 300,000 tonnes more. Bangladesh mainly buys Black Sea wheat and smaller quantities of high-quality Australian and Canadian cargoes for blending.
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