Dhaka: U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T. Christensen on Monday visited Chattogram Port to mark the arrival of a major consignment of U.S. wheat, highlighting growing commercial cooperation and strengthening bilateral ties between Bangladesh and the United States, read a press release of the embassy.

The visit coincided with the arrival of nearly 60,000 metric tons of high-quality U.S. wheat, part of a larger shipment totaling more than 173,000 metric tons. Ambassador Christensen joined Chattogram Port Authority Chairman Rear Admiral S. M. Moniruzzaman and Secretary of Food Md. Firoz Sarker to formally welcome the shipment.

According to the U.S. Embassy, the consignments include almost 115,000 metric tons of soft white wheat sourced from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, and nearly 60,000 metric tons of hard red winter wheat from Montana and Nebraska. The shipments together represent a critical supply of high-protein, nutritious grain for Bangladesh, which produces only about 13 percent of its annual wheat consumption domestically.

The embassy said these deliveries underscore Bangladesh’s growing importance as a key market for U.S. agricultural exports and reflect deepening trade relations between the two countries.

In July 2025, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Food signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the U.S. Wheat Association (USWA), a trade body nominated by the United States Department of Agriculture, to purchase up to 700,000 metric tons of U.S. wheat annually until 2030.

Under the MoU, Bangladesh has already purchased approximately 660,000 metric tons of U.S. wheat through three sales from international commodity trader AgroCorp, with more than 350,000 metric tons delivered so far.

The agreement is aimed at ensuring a steady supply of nutritious wheat for Bangladesh while creating new market opportunities for U.S. farmers and agribusinesses, the embassy said.