Bangladesh to cancel wheat import tender

Bangladesh is scrapping an international tender to import 50,000 tonnes of wheat as it received only one offer to supply the grain that was too expensive, two officials from the state grains procurement agency said on Friday.

Trading house Agrocorp was the only participant and the price offered was $548.38 a tonne CIF liner out in the tender, issued by the Directorate General of Food, the procurement agency.

Liner out costs include ship unloading costs for the wheat seller.

Bangladesh imported around seven million tonnes of wheat in 2021, with 65 per cent coming from neighbouring India, which recently banned wheat exports, seriously tightening supplies in Asian markets.

The South Asian country is among importers also hit by disruption to Ukrainian and Russian grain exports and surging prices of wheat and other commodities caused by the conflict between the two countries.