Wheat imports grew four times in the first quarter of this fiscal year as businesses showed an interest in tapping into reduced international prices of the second most-consumed grain in Bangladesh.

Russia and Ukraine have become major sources of wheat for Bangladesh after India’s ban of its shipment, thanks to a United Nations and Turkey brokered grain deal that allowed moving the cereal from Ukraine over the Black Sea. 

Hundreds of trucks carrying wheat to Bangladesh have been held up at different land ports in West Bengal for at least three weeks.

A shift in consumers' diet preference and flourishing baked food market pushed Bangladesh to hit a record high on wheat imports in current fiscal year. In this fiscal year, wheat import stood at 5.4 million tonnes till mid-June, show government statistics.