Bangladesh imports wheat, rice 100,000T

DHAKA: Bangladesh's state grains buyer issued on Sunday tenders to import 50,000 tonnes of wheat and 50,000 tonnes of non-basmati parboiled rice as part of efforts to replenish reserves, a food official said.

The last date of submission of offers for both tenders is July 21, with the wheat and rice to be shipped in 40 days after signing deals. The tender for wheat is the first for the 2011-12 fiscal years that began on July 1 after Russia and Ukraine resume normal export flows, putting downward pressure on prices.

For rice it is the second tender issued by the state grains buyer. In its first tender for rice, it bought same quantity of parboiled rice from Thailand's Phoenix Commodities at $509 a tonnes, including CIF and liner out.

Meanwhile, the government has received an offer from Ukraine to export 100,000 tonnes of wheat to the south Asian country at $365 a tonne, which Bangladeshi officials say high.

Bangladesh, a major buyer of cheaper Black Sea wheat, turned to Romania, Bulgaria, Brazil, Turkey and lately Pakistan for the grain, following last year's devastating drought that prompted Russia and Ukraine to impose bans on exports.

The country's wheat imports dropped to around 3.2 million tonnes of wheat in the year to June from 3.8 million tonnes the previous year because of higher prices.

Copyright Reuters, 2010