& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Wheat imports rise, driven by low global prices

Sohel Parvez
Wheat imports soared in July on the back of low global prices and increased local consumption in the face of relatively high price of staple rice.
Last month, imports rose around 34 percent year-on-year to 1.73 lakh, according to data from the food ministry.
Asif Iqbal, executive director of Meghna Group of Industries, a major commodity importer and processor, linked the increased arrival to falling wheat prices on the global market.
"The favourable price of wheat is encouraging higher imports."
In the three months to July, the price of US soft red winter variety wheat fell to $260.9 from $279.3 a tonne, according to the World Bank's Commodities Price data.
Speculations of lower rice production in fiscal 2012-13 led to higher wheat imports, said Abul Bashar Chowdhury, chairman of BSM Group, a Chittagong-based commodity importer.
"Wheat consumption has increased because of the relatively higher prices of rice in the domestic market As a result, wheat imports are up."
Currently, the unpackaged wheat flour trades at Tk 30-32 a kilogram, while its substitute, the coarse rice, sells at Tk 32-34 a kg, according to Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.
If the rice prices remain stable, wheat imports are bound to rise, according to Chowdhury. “A low aman output during the monsoon will also encourage more wheat imports, ’ he added.
In fiscal 2012-13, total wheat imports stood at 18.61 lakh tones, up 5.31 percent from the previous fiscal year.
However, local production increased as well, by 26 percent year-on-year to 12.54 lakh tonnes, thanks to an increase in crop area and favourable weather, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
The government plans to import 8.5 lakh tonnes of wheat this fiscal year, up almost 152 percent from fiscal 2012-13's purchases. Already, it has taken steps to acquire 2 lakh tonnes from Ukraine through state-level arrangements and floated tenders for50,000 tonnes.
“Since the price of wheat is lower on the international market, we want to complete the tender process for our purchase target within three to four months," said Badrul Hasan, director of procurement of Directorate General of Food.
Currently, the government sells flour in open markets in an effort to stabilise prices and increase the share of wheat in food distribution programmes under safety net schemes.