Bangladesh today received the second consignment of US wheat that it bought from the United States (US) under a government-to-government contract, according to a press release from the food ministry.

A ship carrying around 61,000 tonnes of wheat from the US has arrived at the outer berth of Chattogram Port, just over a week after another vessel with around 57,000 tonnes of US grain arrived at the seaport.

Testing of the wheat samples has already begun, with arrangements in place for prompt unloading once clearance is given, the food ministry said.

With the latest shipment, the total arrival of US wheat purchased by the government stands at more than 1.17 lakh tonnes. The food ministry earlier signed two contracts with a US agency to buy a total of 4.40 lakh tonnes of wheat to protect Bangladesh’s exports to America and cut the trade deficit, which favours Bangladesh.

The ministry first signed a contract to import 2.20 lakh tonnes of wheat at $302.75 per tonne, including cost, insurance, freight, and port-related charges, referred to as the CIF Liner Out price.

It signed to buy another 2.20 lakh tonnes of US wheat at $308 per tonne, also on a CIF Liner Out basis, the food ministry said earlier.

Of the total import of 15.22 lakh tonnes of wheat during the July-October period of this fiscal year, the government imported nearly 57,000 tonnes, while the private sector imported the rest.

The food ministry imported 4.66 lakh tonnes of the grain, used for various social protection schemes, in the fiscal year 2024–25.