The government has set the wheat import target at 850,000 tonnes for the current fiscal year to ensure the country's food security for the period.
Of the amount, around 200,000 tonnes will be imported from Ukraine under a government to government contract while the rest will be collected through tender.
As per the decision, wheat will be imported at a unit price of US$307 per tonne which totals to $61.4m through the Chittagong port.
As of June 17, the government had a stock of 1.05m tonnes of grain, out of which rice accounted for 815,000 tonnes, and wheat for 236,000 tonnes.
The government decided to import wheat, as it believed in maintaining a certain wheat reserve, said an official of the ministry of food.
"The government procures wheat from international markets in addition to the local market to ensure food security,'' he said, adding: "As a part of this, we are going to import 200,000 tonnes of wheat from Ukraine to meet the demand.''
Bangladesh government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ukrainian government after going through negotiations. The State Food and Grain Corporation of Ukraine will supply the projected amount to Bangladesh.
The government has also floated a tender to import 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat through international quotation.
