Dhaka, Bangladesh (CU)_ According to the two government sources that are familiar with the subject, Bangladesh is planning to purchase 500,000 tonnes of wheat from Russia at a price of $430 per tonne under a government-to-government agreement. Bangladesh is one of the importers impacted hard by the Ukrainian and Russian grain export crises. As a result, the South Asian nation has been seeking alternatives to buying the grain, as its largest source India also suspended wheat exports in May.
According to officials, the agreement will be inked with Russia in a couple of days, and shipments will begin in January. The official said that payment will be made in US dollars by Bangladesh for the import, and the price will cover freight, insurance, and unloading. Salman Fazlur Rahman, the private industry and investment adviser to the Prime Minister, confirmed that Bangladesh is purchasing food and fertilizer from Russia, but did not provide further details. He said, “We can make payments in dollars for imports of food grains and fertilizers from Russia through 24 global banks, with no restriction on such imports”.
Following India’s export prohibition, Bangladesh attempted to replenish government stocks through international auctions, as the stocks had reached their lowest level in three years earlier this year. However, the country was forced to cancel some of them due to exceedingly high prices in an unstable worldwide market. Bangladesh is one of the key importers of black sea wheat. However, since the inception of the Russia-Ukraine war in February, no shipments have entered the nation. According to data, in the year leading up to June 2021, the nation imported 5.4 million tonnes of wheat in total, of which 24% was imported from India, 21% was from Russia, and 17% was from Ukraine.
