Desk Report,
US wheat import trade deficit to narrow slightly
The government has taken the initiative to import 700,000 tons of wheat annually from the United States. This initiative was taken to reduce the trade deficit due to US President Donald Trump’s counter-tariffs. If this initiative is implemented, how much will the trade deficit with the country be reduced, what are the current source countries of wheat imports, these issues have come to the fore. No wheat was imported from the United States in the last fiscal year. In the last 22 years, only 2.2 million taka of wheat was imported irregularly from the United States. However, in the last fiscal year; that is, in one year, 5.9 million taka of wheat was imported from different countries. Last Sunday, the government signed a memorandum of understanding with the US Wheat Exporters Association or US Wheat Association. According to the memorandum of understanding, the government will buy 700,000 tons of wheat from the country at a competitive price every year for the next five years.
US wheat import trade deficit to narrow slightly
Of the two main food grains, wheat is mainly import-dependent. Due to low production, about 85 percent of the demand has to be imported. A large part of the import is done by the private sector. In the fiscal year 2024-25, 5.9 million tons of wheat were imported, of which six percent were imported by government agencies. Now that the government has taken the initiative to import seven hundred thousand tons annually, the import rate in the government sector will increase.
How much is imported from which country?
There are two types of wheat available in the world market. One is common wheat, which is cheaper in the world market. The other is high-grain wheat, which is comparatively more expensive. In Bangladesh, cheap common wheat is being imported more.
According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), last year, 5.9 million tons of wheat were imported by the government and private sectors at a cost of $1.63 billion (customs value 22,391 billion taka). This wheat was imported from eight countries around the world.
According to a decade of NBR data, Bangladesh’s major source of cheap common wheat imports is from Russia and Ukraine. The two countries have been at war for about three and a half years. Even so, 46 percent or 2.7 million tons of wheat imports in the last fiscal year were imported from Russia. 18 percent were imported from Ukraine; that is, 64 percent of the total wheat imports come from the two countries.
In addition, 19 percent are imported from Canada, 8 percent from Argentina, 3 percent from Bulgaria and Romania each, 2 percent from Brazil and 1 percent from Australia.
About 70 percent of the wheat imported into Bangladesh is of normal grain. The price of this type of wheat is comparatively low. Normal grain wheat comes from Russia-Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania and Brazil. The price of wheat imported from these countries is between $264 and $275 per ton. Bread and ordinary quality bakery products are made from normal grain wheat.
High grain wheat is imported from Canada and Australia. The price per ton is between $300 and $313. Two types of wheat are being imported from Argentina: normal and high grain. High-protein wheat is used to make various food products including parathas and high-quality biscuits.
History of wheat import from the US
It is known that no wheat was imported from the US in the last fiscal year. In the last 22 years, 2.22 million tons of wheat have been imported from the country. Of this, more than 1.7 million tons were imported by the private sector. Three hundred thousand tons were imported by the public sector. The highest wheat import from the US in two decades was 4.5 million tons in the 2019-20 fiscal year. Several groups including private City Group, Meghna Group of Industries, and Nabil Group import this wheat. The last wheat import from the US by the public sector was in 2017.
When asked, Amirul Haque, Managing Director of Delta Agro Food Industries, told Prothom Alo that there is no alternative to increasing imports in the private sector to reduce the trade deficit. Although the comparative price is slightly higher, the quality of US wheat is good. If competitive prices and benefits are provided, wheat imports from the country can also increase in the private sector.
Amirul Haque said that besides wheat, there is an opportunity to import four billion dollars in four products from the United States – cotton, LPG, soybeans and scrap (iron scrap), raw materials for steel factories. For this, the government must increase policy support in the logistics sector.
