Bangladesh receives its first shipment of wheat from US

Bangladesh has started importing wheat from the United States for the first time as part of an agreement between the two nations.

On Saturday, the first shipment of 56,959 tonnes of the grain arrived at the Chattogram Port aboard the US vessel "Norse Stride", according to a press release.

Under the agreement, a total of 440,000 tonnes of wheat will be imported from the US.

The deal is part of the efforts to lower the Trump administration's supplementary duty on Bangladeshi goods, which originally stood at 35 percent. To ease the burden, the interim government moved towards increasing imports from the US in exchange for tariff reductions.

In July, Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to import 700,000 tonnes of wheat annually from the US. Following prolonged discussions, the supplementary duty was reduced to 20 percent.

The food ministry said the agreement aimed to ensure national food security, nutrition and stable food supply.

Bangladesh currently meets its wheat demand through imports from India, Russia, Belarus and other countries.

In mid-September, Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus told Assistant US Trade Representative Brendan Lynch that Bangladesh was ready to increase imports from the United States, hoping this would pave the way for future tariff cuts.

The statement said the wheat import agreement is managed by Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Food and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Samples from the first shipment will be tested before the wheat is unloaded. Of the 56,959 tonnes, 34,170 tonnes will be unloaded at Chattogram Port, and the remaining 22,789 tonnes at Mongla Port.