Wheat prices down as India resumes exports through Hili land port

Price of wheat has gone down by Tk 4-5 per kg as supply issues eased after India resumed exports through Hili land port in Dinajpur.

Traders said they bought wheat at Tk 36-37 per kg today (July 30, 2022). It was Tk 40-41 per kg last week.

Mustafijur Rahman, general secretary of Hili land port export-import group, told UNB that the price of wheat decreased due to increased supply recently.

On May 13, India imposed an embargo on wheat export to maintain supply of the food grains in their domestic market.

India later allowed wheat import to Bangladesh under the previous LCs since May 29 this year. The importers who opened LCs to import wheat through railway containers now have to import it by road due to some problems with the railway line, Mustafijur said.

The traders said the price of wheat increased to Tk 1,600 per maund, from Tk 950 before the Ukraine-Russia war.  One maund equals to approximately 40 kg.

Wheat is Bangladesh’s second staple, and the nation consumes nearly 8.5 million tonnes of wheat annually, which is increasing by 5 to 6 percent per year.

Until January of fiscal year 2021-22, India supplied 66 percent of the wheat Bangladesh imported. Of the rest, 15 percent was from Ukraine, 7 percent from Russia, 6 percent from Canada, and 5 percent from Australia.

Tags: wheat, India, Bangladesh, food grains, Hili land port, exports, domestic market, импорт, price