India's LMJ International made the lowest offer at $299.50 a tonne, including freight, insurance and other expenses, in a Bangladesh tender that opened on Wednesday to buy 50,000 tonnes of wheat, a procurement official said. Four bidders took part in the tender, issued by the state grains buyer last month as part of efforts to boost reserves.
The offer is below the same firm's lowest offer of $303.90 a tonne at the state grains buyer's previous tender that opened on March 7. The state grains buyer has said it plans to import a total of 900,000 tonnes of wheat in the year to June.
The state buyer has so far purchased or finalised deals for 400,000 tonnes through tenders and 160,000 tonnes in its intergovernmental agreements with Ukraine and it has a carry-over stock of 140,000 tonnes from last year's purchase. Bangladesh is also in talks with Ukraine to buy 100,000 tonnes of wheat. The government has launched a plan to procure 100,000 tonnes of wheat locally at 24 taka ($0.29) a kg in this season. Today's tender could be the last for the current fiscal year if the local procurement drive gets a good response and the Ukraine deal is finalised.
Private traders import around 2.5 million to 3.0 million tonnes of wheat to meet demand, with domestic production having stagnated at nearly 1 million tonnes. Rice is the main staple for Bangladesh, home to 160 million people. However, wheat consumption is rising due to steady economic growth and changes in lifestyles.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.