Bangladesh will not be affected by the Indian government’s decision to ban wheat export as it is only applicable at the non-government level, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder has said.
“India banned wheat exports at a private level. They didn’t ban wheat export at government level and it remains written clearly in the notification. So, I think it will not be too much of a problem,” he told reporters while visiting a food warehouse in Sylhet on Sunday.
The minister said India has to sell their produced wheat. “Today, they may have issued a notification but they can withdraw it after 15 days or one month. So, it will not be right to make any comment in advance,” he mentioned.
Noting that Bangladesh was fairly self-reliant in food, the minister said that Bangladesh had not imported rice in the last one year. “Domestic rice production is meeting the local demands.
“Bangladesh has to import wheat. Wheat is imported at the private level on a larger scale,” he added.
Sadhan said that Bangladesh generally imports wheat from Russia and Ukraine at the government level. “Some 300,000 tons of wheat have already been imported from India.”
About the price hike of edible oils, the minister said that Bangladesh was not the only country facing the pinch.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque yesterday said that local scientists had invented rice varieties including the “Bangabandhu Dhan 100” that are nutritious.
He instructed all concerned to focus on increasing the cultivation of the “Bangabandhu Dhan 100”.
Dr Razzaque was speaking in Comilla while visiting the regional office of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI).
