Bangladesh signs deal to buy American wheat

Bangladesh has approved the purchase of about 220,000 metric tons of U.S. wheat under a government-to-government deal aimed at easing trade tensions with Washington after import tariffs were imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase cleared the deal today (Tue). 

The wheat, priced at $308 US per ton, will be supplied through Agrocorp International, a Singapore-based trading house authorized by U.S. Wheat Associates.

The agreement follows a memorandum of understanding signed in July for Bangladesh to import 700,000 metric tons of wheat annually from the United States over the next five years as part of efforts to diversify grain sources and strengthen trade ties.

The South Asian country currently depends heavily on lower-cost wheat from the Black Sea region while importing smaller volumes of higher-grade grain from the United States and Canada for blending and quality enhancement.