Olam wins Bangladesh tender for wheat

Olam International secured a tender to supply 50,000 tonnes of wheat to Bangladesh after submitting the lowest offer of $310.88 a tonne CIF liner out, a state grains official said on Sunday.   The tender was the last by the state grains purchasing agency in the 2012/13 financial year that ended on June 30. The government imports wheat to run welfare programmes for the poor and to keep domestic prices stable. Flour prices have gone up in recent months despite a drop in global markets.   Apart from the Bangladesh government, private traders also import about 2.5m tonnes of wheat a year to help to meet local demand of 4m tonnes while domestic output amounts to about 1m tonnes.   Wheat consumption is rising in Bangladesh in line with steady economic growth and changes in lifestyles, though rice remains the staple food for its 160m people.