Imports of wheat and rice--the two staple food of the country--declined 2.76 per cent year-on-year in the fiscal year 2022-23, according to the food ministry data.
Wheat imports dropped 3.46 per cent as its downward trend continued for the third consecutive year due to falling consumption for its high prices and crisis over opening the letters of credit (LCs) amid US dollar shortage, importers said.
The official data showed that in FY 2022-23, imports of food grains, including rice and wheat, by the government and private sectors declined to 48.61 lakh tonnes, down by 1.38 lakh tonnes from the previous fiscal year. In FY2021-22, the country imported 49.99 lakh tonnes of food.
Food import by the private sector has decreased threefold than the government sector's.
In FY23, the government imported 12.16 lakh tonnes of food grains--rice 6.84 lakh tonnes and wheat 5.32 lakh tonnes. It was 1.05 per cent lower than the previous fiscal year. In FY2022, the government imported 12.29 lakh tonnes of food--rice 6.83 lakh tonnes and wheat 5.45 lakh tonnes.
In FY2023, food grain import by the private sector decreased by 3.31 per cent to 36.45 lakh tonnes compared to the previous fiscal year, of which rice was 3.04 lakh tonnes and wheat was 33.41 lakh tonnes. In FY22, private sector imported 37.70 lakh tonnes of food grains--rice 3.04 lakh tonnes and wheat 34.66 lakh tonnes.
Last fiscal year, import of wheat, the second staple food of the country, has decreased more than rice, the first staple food of the country, as compared to the previous fiscal year.
Wheat import declined 3.46 per cent year-on-year to 38.73 lakh tonnes in FY2022-23 from 40.12 lakh tonnes in the previous year, according to the data of the food ministry.
The data showed that public sector’s wheat imports edged up in the last fiscal year, but private sector’s imports dropped nearly 8 per cent to 31.95 lakh tonnes in the July-June period of FY23.
Consumption of wheat flour has reduced amid high prices and this has impacted imports, said importers.
Wheat prices soared in the international market amid supply crunch after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year, and India's ban on shipments of the grain in May the same year.
Locally, the price of wheat flour started to rise since in July 2022 and hit a record high of Tk 62.26 per kilogramme in December, impacted by high prices and the supply crunch.
Concerns of supply eased in the second half of 2022 after the United Nations and Turkey brokered a grain deal between Russia and Ukraine in July that allowed Ukraine to export the cereal over the Black Sea.
Importers said prices of the grain began to drop in later months, but local consumers could not take full advantage because of reduced imports and high cost of the US dollar, resulting in from depreciation of Bangladesh's taka.
Prices of wheat flour stood at Tk 46.50 per kilogramme in June, which was higher than the same month a year ago, according to the data of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
"The main reasons for reduced import are export ban by India, Ukraine war and erosion of the purchasing capacity of people,” said Redwanur Rahman, executive director of Bashundhara Foods and Beverages, one of the largest importers of consumer goods.
He said industries are the main users of wheat and their usage to make wheat-based food, such as biscuits, has declined.
