Surging global prices likely to push up wheat import cost

The cost of wheat import is likely to be higher notably this fiscal year due to an upward trend in the international prices of the food grain. The latest ‘Cereal Supply and Demand Brief’ by FAO forecasts 14 million tonnes of lesser global wheat production this fiscal year which now stands at almost 722 million tonnes, the smallest crop since 2013. However, FAO forecast over expected low output of the staple is being imitated in the market as prices surged by 21-22 per cent in last six months. Now wheat is being traded at $232-$240 a tonne in the global market. It was between $190 and $198 a tonne in March-April this year. Wheat imports by Bangladesh, however, hit a record 5.9 million tonnes worth US$ 1.2 billion in the last fiscal year. Local output declined to 1.3 million tonnes in the fiscal year 2017 and the same is projected at 1.1 million tonnes this fiscal, Department of Agriculture Extension data revealed. Prices of flour (loose), however, remained static in the domestic market, but the cost of packaged flour increased by 1.5-3.3 per cent in last six months, according to the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh. Annual demand for wheat is above 7.0 million tonnes in the country. And the demand has been rising by 6.0-8.0 per cent on a year-on-year basis. The government has a programme to import 0.5 million tonnes of wheat in FY’18. In the first two months of the current FY, the government imported 0.094 million tonnes and the private sector 1.06 million tonnes.

Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/first-page/surging-global-prices-likely-to-push-up-wheat-import-cost-1537206107

Imports witness 16pc growth in July

A whopping 274 per cent rise in fuel oil import enhanced country’s overall imports growth by nearly 16 per cent or US$ 640.40 million in July. The settlement of letters of credit (LCs), generally known as actual import, in terms of value, rose to $4.69 billion in July, the first month of the FY 2018-19 from $ 4.05 billion in the same period of the FY 18, according to the central bank’s latest statistics. The overall imports increased significantly during the period under review due to higher imports of petroleum products,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE on Monday. Import of petroleum products soared by 274.27 per cent to $492.96 million in July of the FY 19 from $131.71 million in the same period of the previous fiscal. The government allows installation of 10 oil-fired power plants under ‘fast-track’ programme to generate 1,768 megawatt (MW) electricity. On the other hand, import of capital machinery-industrial equipment used for production -was down by 16.36 per cent to $408.68 million during the period under review as against $488.65 million a year ago. Food grain imports, particularly of rice and wheat, increased by 21.50 per cent to $156.37 million in July from $128.71 million in the same period of the previous fiscal. Import of consumer goods fell by 2.54 per cent to $515.48 million in the first month of FY 19 from $528.93 million in the same period of the FY 18.

Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/first-page/imports-witness-16pc-growth-in-july-1537206208

Meeting challenges of sustainable power generation

Dwindling domestic gas supply. Ensuring primary fuel supply to achieve the targeted electricity generation mix as envisaged under the Power Supply Master Plan (PSMP) 2016 and the Perspective Plan will be the most important challenge in the face of dwindling domestic gas supply. The growing shortage of natural gas for Bangladesh has become a burning issue. Petrobangla estimated in 2010 that the widening gap between demand and supply would be 7.0 to 9.0 TCF by FY2029 and according to the most recent data the current gas reserve will likely to be depleted in less than 10 years. What’s more worrying is that if the gas demand continues to grow at the current pace (7.0 per cent per annum) the current reserve will be completely depleted by 2023. On the bright side, Bangladesh has sizable unexplored and undiscovered gas resource. Available data indicates that Bangladesh has at least 8.4 TCF of gas resources out of which if 50 per cent becomes available for power, it will support around 2500MW highly efficient combined cycle power plants over their 30-years lifetime. Now, given our target to become an upper middle-income and high-income country by 2031 and 2041 respectively, and the required power generation needed to achieve such goals, the path to higher economic growth appears daunting indeed. Mobilising the US$50 billion from domestic and foreign investors could be the biggest challenge we have in the coming years to accomplish such rapid growth and structural transformation.

Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views-reviews/meeting-challenges-of-sustainable-power-generation-1537197116