March 7, 2012
Bangladesh wheat stocks up at 261,000 tonnes
Due to aggressive purchases by the government, Bangladesh's state wheat reserves are estimated at 261,000 tonnes compared with 40,000 tonnes a year ago, a senior food ministry official said Tuesday (Mar 6).
Bangladesh is one of the world's largest importers of wheat, buying between 3-3.5 million tonnes annually, of which close to 800,000 tonnes is brought in by the government.
Bangladesh has purchased 670,000 tonnes wheat for state reserves in the fiscal year that began July 1 via tenders and inter-government deals with Ukraine, of which around 248,000 tonnes are yet to be delivered.
Bangladesh's domestic wheat harvest of around one million tonnes will start next month.
