The government on Wednesday approved the import of 270,000 tonnes of wheat from the United States and Singapore at a combined cost of Tk 1,052.41 crore to strengthen the country’s public food grain stocks.
The approval came at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase, chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, at the Secretariat.
The committee cleared the import of 220,000 tonnes of wheat from the United States under a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement at US$322 per tonne. The procurement will cost an estimated Tk 869.56 crore.
It also approved the purchase of 50,000 tonnes of wheat from Agrocorp International Pte Ltd of Singapore through an international open tender. The wheat will be supplied at US$297.92 per tonne, with the total procurement cost estimated at Tk 182.85 crore.
Fertiliser Imports Approved
The committee also approved the import of 75,000 tonnes of muriate of potash (MOP) fertiliser from Russia and Canada at a total cost of Tk 351.26 crore for the agriculture sector.
Under separate state-to-state agreements, Bangladesh will import 35,000 tonnes from Russia at a cost of Tk 163.92 crore and 40,000 tonnes from Canada for Tk 187.34 crore.
The fertiliser has been priced at US$380 per tonne under the existing long-term procurement agreements with the two countries.
Army To Get Jalil Textile Mills Land
In a separate decision, the committee gave policy approval to transfer the 54.99-acre Jalil Textile Mills property in Faujdarhat, Chattogram, to the Bangladesh Army at a nominal price.
The land, currently owned by the Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC), will be used to expand the Bangladesh Ordnance Factory (BOF).
Officials said the transfer will be completed after the settlement of the mill’s outstanding liabilities, including utility bills, government dues and other legal obligations, in accordance with the transfer agreement.