Wheat imported from Brazil not rotten

The food ministry yesterday said it had tested the samples of wheat imported from Brazil and did not find the grain “rotten” or “unfit for human consumption”.

“The samples were collected from deputy commissioners. These were again tested and the wheat was found within the specification of contract,” said a statement of the ministry.

The ministry issued the statement following media reports on the import of two lakh tonnes of substandard wheat from Brazil.

Two contractors -- Glencore Grain BV, Netherlands and Singapore-based Olam International -- supplied the grain early this year.

Glencore had supplied 1.5 lakh tonnes and Olam 50,000 tonnes to the Directorate General of Food.

It cost around $46 million or Tk 355 crore, and 90 percent of the payment has been made, said food ministry officials.

Insiders said the wheat was accepted although the suppliers failed to provide the crop year certificate and the Certificate of Standard and Quality of Wheat.

The grain's size is smaller and the amount of flour being produced is lower, some officials of the ministry claimed.

The statement, signed by Deputy Secretary of the food ministry Md Kawser Ahammed, said the bidder had the scope to supply wheat from any country except for Israel as per public procurement rule.

After the arrival of wheat at local ports, tests are conducted on the grain and the lot is accepted if it is within the specification of contract.

The Brazilian wheat was accepted after the cereal was found within the specification of contract, said the statement.

Following media reports on the purchase and distribution of substandard wheat, the ministry collected samples of Brazilian wheat from districts and tested the grain again.

“In the test report, the wheat was not found rotten or unfit for human consumption,” it said.

The ministry, however, did not mention where the test was carried out and what sort of test it was.

Despite repeated attempts over the phone, the food ministry official Kawser Ahammed could not be reached.