Russia has indicated its interest in selling wheat to Bangladesh, aiming to strengthen bilateral trade relations, as reported by the food ministry. The information was shared by Russian Ambassador to Dhaka, Alexander Mantytsky, during a courtesy meeting with Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder at the minister’s office, according to a press release.
The discussions between the two parties covered various issues, including the potential export of wheat from Russia to meet the grain requirements of both the public and private sectors in Bangladesh.
In the first half of the fiscal year 2023-24, the Directorate General (DG) of Food has already signed contracts with Russia to import 300,000 tonnes of wheat at $313 per tonne, as disclosed by a senior official from the food office. As of now, 150,000 tonnes of the grain have been shipped from Russia, with the remaining expected to arrive in February.
Notably, out of the 679,000 tonnes of wheat imported by the DG of Food in the fiscal year 2022-23, 500,000 tonnes were procured from Russia. According to food ministry data for the period between July 1 and January 17 in the fiscal year 2023-24, the public sector’s wheat imports amounted to 261,000 tonnes
