July 8, 2011

Bangladesh seeks Ukraine's assurance in wheat supplies

Since the introduction of a grain export tax by Ukraine, Bangladesh has requested for guarantees on wheat supplies, said Anatoliy Rozgon, head of the agriculture-markets department at the Ukranian Agriculture Ministry.

A tax of 9% on Ukraine's outbound shipments of the grain came into effect July 1, and will be in place through December. Last year, domestic food price concerns led the government of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov to restrict grain exports for almost eight months.

"This probably has to do with the fact that there were export restrictions," Rozgon said of the Bangladeshi request. "I think this is only a formality."

Bangladesh was offered 100,000 tonnes of wheat from Ukraine at US$365 a tonne, Badrul Hassan, the director of procurement at the South Asian country's Food Directorate, said on July 6.

Rozgon declined to comment about the proposed offer.