First shipment of wheat under US trade deal arrives in Bangladesh

the first of a planned 440,000 tonnes of wheat to be imported under an agreement between the Bangladesh Food Directorate and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The ship arrived at the outer roadstead of Chittagong Port on Saturday and is currently undergoing sample testing of the wheat to check its quality before unloading. Of the total wheat delivered by MV Norse Stride, 34,170 tonnes will be unloaded at Chittagong Port, while the remaining 22,789 tonnes will be shipped to Mongla Port. The imports are being made to meet the country’s food needs, as Bangladesh’s annual wheat requirement is over 7 million tonnes, of which only 1.1 million tonnes is met domestically. The rest of the demand is met through imports, with Russia remaining the largest supplier, accounting for 54% of wheat imports in the last fiscal year, followed by Ukraine (14%) and India. The Bangladesh government recently decided to import wheat from the US to reduce the trade imbalance between the ...