Wheat import hits a snag

This year's public sector wheat import has hit a snag over quality issues.

After a nationwide outcry over import and distribution of allegedly substandard wheat, the food minister in parliament declared in June not to import wheat from Brazil anymore.

Since then ships carrying 2.6 lakh tonnes of wheat anchored at two seaports in the country, but only 1.56 lakh tonnes has been unloaded and taken to the granaries, food officials confirmed.

The government had to reject two more consignments of wheat last month weighing 1.04 lakh tonnes from France as lab tests at Chittagong Port found the quality not up to the standard set by the Directorate of Food.

Ships carrying half the consignments weighing 52,000 tonnes left the port for India after the food directorate had refused to accept it. But ships carrying the other half weighing 52,000 tonnes still remained stationary in the country's territorial waters, officials told The Daily Star.

Reached over phone, State Minister for Food Nuruzzaman Ahmed acknowledged rejection of a few wheat consignments from France and said, "We have notified the port and customs authorities accordingly."

The import hiccup apart, domestic procurement also fell short of target. Against a 2.55-lakh-tonne target set for procurement directly from wheat growers, the government could procure 2.05 lakh tonnes.

Talking to The Daily Star last week, lawmaker Abdul Wadud, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on food ministry, said he would convene a meeting of the Jatiya Sangsad body soon to take stock of the wheat situation.

Earlier this year when the government imported 2.05 lakh tonnes of wheat from Brazil, its grain quality and insect infestation sparked a huge outcry across the country. Even ruling party men put up barricades at places blocking entry of the consignments into public granaries.

Ataur Rahman, a joint secretary at the food ministry, said wheat import specifications had been made stringent after the Brazil experience.

Ilahi Dad Khan, director (procurement) at the Directorate of Food, told this correspondent that in the last couple of months two consignments of imported wheat weighing 1.04 lakh tonnes and another from France weighing 52,000 tonnes had been unloaded at Chittagong and Mongla ports.

"But we had to reject two more wheat consignments [weighing 1.04 lakh tonnes] from France as the ratio of damaged kernels went beyond tolerable level," he added.

Prior to the Brazil experience, the Directorate of Food had set specification of allowing wheat having up to four percent of damaged kernels. "We would even accept wheat having up to seven percent damaged kernels slapping some penalties on importers," said an official, adding, "Now specifications have been made stringent."

A number of officials of the food ministry and directorate have confirmed that three percent damaged kernels have been set as new permissible level in case of import now.

Against this backdrop, Ilahi Dad Khan does not foresee any food security threat as there is a wheat reserve of 3.5 lakh tonnes, which he claims, is enough to keep the public food distribution system (PFDS) rolling for next six months.

Bangladesh annually requires more than four million tonnes of wheat and three-fourths of it is met by public and private sector import. In the last fiscal (2014-15) the government imported only 3.12 lakh tonnes of wheat as against 34.49 lakh tonnes imported by private importers.