A wheat-laden vessel reached Chittagong port from Russia on 13 October for the first time after Moscow began a war with Kyiv in late February.
Since the war broke out, imports from Russia to Bangladesh remained halted due to sanctions imposed by western nations and war-related risks.
After sailing on 17 September from the port of Novorossiysk in Russia the vessel namely Sealuck II, a flag carrier of Malta, reached the outer anchorage of Chittagong port on 13 October carrying 53,000 tonnes of wheat.
Russian state-owned enterprise OZK Trading LLC is a supplier of wheat to Bangladesh’s Food Department.
Unloading of a portion of wheat has started at the outer bar of Chittagong port on the same day by lightering vessels while the rest will be unloaded at Mongla port.
The latest import is under the government-to-government arrangement while imports by the private sector still remained suspended. The last time wheat came from Russia to Bangladesh was on 27 January this year.
The next lot of 450,000 tonnes of wheat from Russia is scheduled to reach Chittagong by December.
Bangladesh mainly imports wheat, the second staple food of the country, from Russia, Ukraine, and India. In the fiscal year 2021-22, Bangladesh sourced 27% of its wheat needs from Russia which came down to only 6.5% flowing ship rent hikes and war-linked disruptions.
After the war began, trade with Russia was suspended as vessels had been avoiding Russian seaports. Bangladesh’s government was also hesitant to import from Russia considering the problems of making payments as Russian banks were blocked from SWIFT messaging system.
However, on 1 September, the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase gave approval for buying 500,000 tonnes of wheat from Russia.
Sharar Nayel
Asia Correspondent
