India has emerged as the largest exporter in the current fiscal year (FY '22) so far fetching 66 per cent of Bangladesh's total wheat imports, surpassing Russia.
Dependence on India for wheat might increase further for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, said the United States Agricultural Department (USDA) report, published recently.
Indian offers are comparatively much cheaper for both commodity price and freight, encouraging local traders to source the cereal from the country, said USDA's Grain and Feed Annual report.
Wheat is the second staple in Bangladesh with nearly 8.5 million tonnes of annual consumption and the consumption has been increasing 5.0-6.0 per cent per annum.
The USDA report said Russia and Ukraine combined supplied 42 per cent of the total import in the marketing year 2020-2021.
In Bangladesh's import, India and Russia's share was same 26 per cent, Canada 20 per cent and Ukraine was third largest with 16 per cent stake of Bangladesh's wheat consumption in 2020-2021.
Until January of 2021-22 marketing year, India had captured 66 per cent of market share of Bangladeshi imported wheat while it was 15 per cent from Ukraine, 7.0 per cent from Russia, 6.0 per cent from Canada and 5.0 per cent from Australia.
USDA report said in the first seven months of 2021-22, India supplied approximately 2.8 million tonnes of wheat to Bangladesh, while Russia and Ukraine, combined, supplied approximately only 0.9 million tonnes, down 40 per cent from the same period in the last year.
"While the Russia-Ukraine war will affect Bangladesh's annual wheat supply, traders are already looking to India, the largest supplier, to make up the volume. Industry also stated it will look to Australia, Canada, and the United States for higher quality wheat," said the report.
Meanwhile, the USDA forecasts Bangladesh's wheat import might be around 7.4 million tonnes with the end of 2021-22 marketing year.
It also forecasts 7.6 million tonnes of imports by Bangladesh in the next (2022-23) marketing year while its production forecasts 1.1 million tonnes.
According to the report, Bangladesh's annual consumption of wheat might be 8.5 million tonnes this year.
Meanwhile, the current price of wheat flour is 35-42 per cent higher in Bangladesh compared to a year ago, according to Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
Coarse wheat flour (atta) was selling at Tk 38-45 a kg, finer wheat flour (maida) at Tk 48-60 a kg in Bangladesh, marking a record high.
