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The interim government is working on resolving the "stolen grain" issue raised by Ukraine, sources said.
In this regard, the foreign affairs ministry has requested state agencies, including food, commerce, and shipping ministries; National Board of Revenue (NBR); and Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), to soon make necessary comments on the concerns raised by Ukraine, they added.
Following a request by Kyiv, the foreign affairs ministry has sought opinions from the state organisations to solve the issue as early as possible.
War-torn Ukraine prepares to request the European Union (EU) to impose sanctions on Bangladeshi private entities that it alleges are importing wheat stolen from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories.
In line with a note verbale from Kyiv, the Ukrainian embassy in India's New Delhi communicated its government's concerns regarding the alleged purchase of grain (wheat) originating from the temporarily-occupied territories of Ukraine.
Approximately 53,900 tonnes and 42,000 tonnes of grain were illegally exported from the temporarily-occupied Ukrainian ports of Sevastopol and Kerch from May 1 to 11 and April 24 to May 25 this year, respectively, the note verbale claimed.
It also claimed that these shipments were transferred to the transhipment zone of the Russian seaport of Kavkaz, where they were loaded onto the vessel Berden (IMO: 9278818) and Senorita (IMO: 9284257) for onward transportation to Bangladesh.
The Ukrainian side further informed that Berden and Senorita departed the anchorage of Kavkaz on May 13 and May 26, respectively, for the Chittagong Port with expected arrival on June 11 and June 18, respectively.
Contacted, a senior food ministry official said, "The Ukrainian government has already requested Bangladesh to take appropriate measures to prevent the vessels from entering the port, prohibit the unloading of what they describe as stolen grain, and refrain from importing any goods originating from the territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by Russia."
A foreign ministry official said, "We are working on resolving the issue properly. But any country can import from any country. It does not matter whether the imported item is stolen or not as we live in a free market economy."
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