For the first time in Bangladesh’s history, a ship carrying wheat imported from the United States under a government-to-government (G2G) agreement has arrived at Chattogram Port.

According to a press release issued on Saturday by Imdad Islam, Senior Information Officer at the Ministry of Food, the vessel MV Norse Stride anchored at the outer berth of Chattogram Port with 56,959 metric tonnes of wheat. The consignment marks the first shipment under a bilateral wheat import agreement between the governments of Bangladesh and the United States.

Under the memorandum of understanding signed between the two governments, Bangladesh will import a total of 440,000 metric tonnes of wheat through the G2G arrangement. The current shipment is the first batch of this consignment.

The import operation is being conducted by Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Food under the Ministry of Food, in collaboration with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The ministry said that quality testing of wheat samples from the vessel has already begun. Once the inspection process is completed, the unloading will commence immediately. Of the total shipment, 34,170 tonnes will be discharged at Chattogram Port and the remaining 22,789 tonnes at Mongla Port.

Officials said the decision to import wheat from the US was taken as part of efforts to reduce Bangladesh’s trade deficit with the country. The wheat is being procured from Agrocrop International, a firm approved by the US Wheat Associates.

The contract, approved by Bangladesh’s Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase on 23 July, set the price at USD 302 per tonne. Although the original proposal was for 220,000 tonnes, the final agreement allows for a 10 per cent variation, meaning up to 242,000 tonnes will be imported.

In July this year, Bangladesh signed a five-year memorandum of understanding with the US Wheat Exporters’ Association. Under the deal, Bangladesh will import 700,000 tonnes of wheat annually from the US.

Bangladesh’s annual demand for wheat exceeds eight million tonnes, while domestic production stands at just over 1.1 million tonnes. The rest is met through imports. In the last fiscal year, 54 per cent of wheat imports came from Russia, followed by 14 per cent from Ukraine, and a smaller portion from India.

FP/MI