Bangladesh have issued a tender to import 138,000 tonnes of wheat by November to meet domestic demand in winter, food officials said on Thursday. The tender will close on August 13, with validity up to September 2.
The shipment should be within 30 days from the date of signing of the contract, they said. "We expect that the tendered wheat will arrive in Bangladesh by the end of November, ahead of winter," Bedroll Hasan, a director of the government food directorate, told Reuters.
Demand for wheat rises in Bangladesh in winter, when wheat supplements the staple food, rice. The wheat will be delivered either to Chittagong or Mongolia ports, another official said. Bangladesh's wheat production fell 2.84 percent to 750,000 tonnes in the 2006-07 (July-June) financial year.
The country's annual wheat demand is 3.5 million tonnes and it covers the shortfall through government and private sector imports and foreign grants. On Wednesday, Bangladesh tendered to import 150,000 tonnes of rice by October to meet possible emergency post-monsoon demand. The tender will close on August 1, with validity up to August 21.
This month, the state-managed food directorate floated separate tenders to import 212,000 tonnes of wheat and 200,000 tonnes. These tenders will close on July 17. Bangladesh produced nearly 29 million tonnes of rice, the country's main staple, in 2005/06 (July-June) fiscal year. The production figure for rice in 2006-07 financial year was yet to be available. Bangladesh scrapped a 5 percent import duty on wheat and rice in March to keep price stable.
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