Bangladesh's Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has said traders have started importing wheat from Canada and other countries after the closure of the Ukraine-Russia market due to the ongoing war. While briefing reporters, he said the wheat issue was raised at the fourth meeting of the task force on reviewing commodity prices and market conditions at the Secretariat on Thursday (November 03, 2022). “One of the major traders said one of his shipments of 55,000 tons of wheat was stuck at Turkey port but it has now started for Bangladesh. As Ukraine was our main supplier of wheat, the price might be higher for importing from Canada to meet demands for now,” he said. Read more: Govt to import 500,000 mt wheat Russia, 330,000 mt of rice from India, Vietnam Tipu Munshi said there is a little shortfall in the amount of wheat to be imported and supply will normalize if Ukraine and Russia lift the ban on export. The wheat being imported from Canada is also of good quality, he added. Regarding the price hike of pulses by Tk 10 per kg in the last few days, the minister said, impacted by the global price hike the pulse supply has declined a bit.  “The Tariff Commission will look into this and see if the price increase is reasonable,” he added. Read more: Russia keen to export 3 lakh mts wheat to Bangladesh He also said due to rising dollar prices, Bangladesh is not getting the benefit of falling global prices of rod, and cement at the moment. “People's main focus is on food. If the food production is right, compromises can be made in other sectors,” Bangladesh's commerce minister said.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said on Monday that the government is trying to import wheat from five alternative sources, including Ukraine after India banned the exports of the food grain. India has announced a ban on wheat exports amid the devaluation of taka against the US dollar, he said while addressing a dialogue organised by Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum (BSRF) at the Secretariat. “But hopefully, India will consider it in case of neighbouring countries. We are continuing negotiations,” he added. Read: Bangladesh heading towards acute crisis: BNP warns The minister said the government, instead of controlling the market of daily commodities, should work to keep it stable. “We are business friendly. We fix the price in line with the global market. If there is a fixed price in the market, the market will remain stable,” said the minister. He said when the situation in the global market is stable the domestic market also stays stable. There is a minor issue with the prices of edible oil, sugar and lentils. “We have to import 90 per cent of the edible oil. The price increases in our country in line with the global market,” he added. The Russia-Ukraine war has had a huge impact on the food products, he said. And so the minister urged all to be accommodative as there is some crisis ahead.

The cabinet committee on public purchase (CCPP) at a meeting on Wednesday approved 11 procurement proposals, including the import of 50,000 metric tons of wheat and 90,000 mt of fertiliser. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the virtual meeting. As per the approvals, Agrocorp International Pte Ltd., Singapore will supply the 50,000 mt of wheat at a cost of 29.1069 million (equivalent to Tk 179.50 crore) under an international quotation invited by the Directorate General of Food. Each metric ton of wheat will cost $421.38. Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) will import 90,000 mt of urea fertiliser from three companies under three separate lots under state-to-state contracts. Of these, the Fertiglobe Distribution Limited, UAE will supply 30,000 mt of bulk granular urea at $10.3524 million (equivalent to Tk 115.16 crore) -- each ton at $ 450.833. Muntajat of Qatar will supply 30,000 MT of bagged granular urea at $10.314 million (equivalent to Tk 111.71 crore) -- each MT $436.83. Read: Cabinet body okays imports of rice & fertilisers Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) will supply 30,000 mt bulk granular urea at $10.2775 million (equivalent to Tk 108.90 crore) – each mt at $425.83. Two proposals of Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) also received the CCPP nod. Of these, the BREB will award a Tk 84.42 crore contract to MANS Electrical Ltd, for the supply of 13,040 distribution transformers for the electricity distribution network expansion project at Dhaka, Mymensingh, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions. It will ward a Tk 71.23 crore contract to Bangladesh Machine Tools Factory Ltd, for the supply of 51,359 SPC poles for the same extricate distribution project. Read: Fertiliser demand rescheduled for fiscal year 2020-21 The committee approved a tender proposal to award a Tk 123.91 crore contract MONICO Ltd, Dhaka for the construction of a land port at Ramghar in Khagrachari district under “Bangladesh Regional Connectivity Project-1: Development of Sheola, Bhomrah, Ramgarh Land Ports and upgradation of Security System of Benapole Land Port ''. The committee also approved a proposal for appointing a consultant for Cox’s Bazar airport runway construction project and awarding two separate contracts for administration building construction of Sheikh Hasina University, Netrakona and its land development project.

Bangladesh will import 60,000 metric tonnes of diesel from India in the current year 2021 under a government-to-government contract.