DHAKA: Bangladesh is set to import 60,000 tonnes of wheat from Ukraine under a government-to-government deal at $280 a tonne, including CIF liner out, a senior procurement official said on Sunday.
The price is sharply lower than its first intergovernmental agreement with Kiev in September in which it purchased 100,000 tonnes of wheat at $320 a tonne.
The latest deal was finalised after a Bangladeshi delegation visited Ukraine last month.
The agreement will be signed soon, the official said, adding that the price was set in line with declines in global wheat prices.
Benchmark wheat futures ended 2011 down 17.8 percent, their third loss over the last four years. Plentiful supplies are expected to weigh on wheat prices throughout 2012.
Bangladesh's state grains buyer has so far purchased or finalised deals for 350,000 tonnes of wheat in the fiscal year through June 2012 out of a planned 900,000 tonnes.
The south Asian country, which buys 3.0 million-3.5 million tonnes of wheat annually to meet domestic demand, switched to cheaper Black Sea suppliers after India banned exports in 2007 amid a global shortage.
However, late last year India allowed exports of wheat and rice, and competitive prices prompted Bangladeshi traders to shift away from Black Sea suppliers.
While wheat consumption is rising in Bangladesh and domestic production has stagnated at nearly 1 million tonnes, rice remains the staple food for its 160 million people.
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