Govt to revise wheat import standard amid recent ‘scam’

The government is set to revise the existing standard specifications on wheat import in the face of the recent 'scam' regarding import of the food item, officials said.
"The government has taken the move against the backdrop of allegations of importing 0.2 million tonnes of substandard wheat from Brazil," a senior official of the Ministry of Food told the FE on Tuesday on condition of anonymity.
In this connection, the ministry has called a meeting next week with the secretary in the chair to re-fix its specification of wheat purchase through international bidding.
Presently, the Directorate of Food uses nine parameters for wheat import, which are - test weight, damaged kernels, foreign material, shrunken and broken kernels, wheat of other classes, protein content, moisture content, dockage and radioactivity.
"We have proposed new specifications to ensure import of improved and better quality wheat. The proposal has been sent to food ministry," Director General (DG) of Directorate of Food Foiz Ahamed told the FE on Tuesday.
He said test weight, damaged kernels, broken kernels and protein content are given importance in importing wheat.
The existing specifications of wheat import are - shrunken and broken (max) 5.0 per cent, protein content (mini) 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent, test weight 75 kg/hl, moisture content 13.5 per cent, and damaged kernels (max) 4.0 per cent.
The rejections levels are - shrunken and broken above 8.0 per cent, protein content below 9.5 per cent, test weight 72 kg/hl, moisture content above 14 per cent, and damaged kernels above 7.0 per cent.
On the other hand, the proposed specifications are - shrunken and broken 4.0 per cent, protein content (mini) 12.5 per cent (at DMB), test weight 76 kg/hl, moisture content (max) 13.5 per cent, and damaged kernels 3.0 per cent (including maximum 0.2 per cent  heat damaged kernels). The proposed rejection levels are - shrunken and broken above 5.0 per cent, protein content below 12.5 per cent, test weight below 75 kg/hl, moisture content above 14 per cent, and damaged kernels above 3.0 per cent.
In the last fiscal year, 2014-15, the government targeted to buy 0.6 million tonnes of wheat from the international market. The government may import nearly 1.0 million tonnes of wheat in this fiscal.
Directorate of Food has proposed the new specifications for importing different grades of wheat after reviewing the specifications of World Food Programme (WFP) and Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), said senior assistant secretary (external procurement) of food ministry Muhammad Mahbubur Rahman.
An inter-ministerial meeting will be held to fix the new specifications for wheat import. The ministry has already sent its proposal to different ministries for submitting opinions on the new specifications and attending the meeting, he added.
The Netherlands-based Glencore Grain and Singapore-based Olam International recently supplied the much-talked-about 0.2 million tonnes of 'substandard' wheat at a cost of nearly Tk 4.0 billion.
The Supreme Court (SC) Chamber Judge has stayed until July 26 the High Court order that directed the government to take back the Brazilian wheat, if anyone who received the food item wants to return it.
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