Bangladesh seeks 50,000 tonnes wheat in tender

DHAKA: Bangladesh's state grains buyer issued a tender on Monday to import 50,000 tonnes of milling wheat in a bid to boost reserves, a procurement official said.

The deadline to submit offers is March 25, with validity up to April 4, said the official at the Directorate General of Food, Bangladesh's state grains purchasing agency.

Wheat with 12.5 percent protein content was sought for shipment within 40 days after the contract signing and the grain can be supplied from any worldwide origin except Israel.

Offers should be on c&f liner out terms, which includes provisions for ship unloading.

"The new tender from Bangladesh confirms the country's continued import demand," one European trader said.

"The country wants wheat and is able to buy in tenders, but participation by trading houses in Bangladesh's tenders remains low by international standards."

"The country needs to simplify its import process in my view to gain greater participation by international trading houses."

Four trading houses submitted offers in Bangladesh's last tender on March 4. This was well below the 14 trading houses which submitted offers in Egypt's wheat tender on Feb. 20.

A report from the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in December estimated Bangladesh's wheat import requirements in the 2018/19 season at a record high of around 6 million tonnes, some 34 percent above the previous five-year average following steady increases since 2012/13.

The strong demand for wheat reflects a shift in consumer preferences towards bread as well as increasing use of wheat as a substitute for more expensive rice, the FAO said.