Pictures published are not of wheat imported from Brazil: Qamrul Islam

Food Minister Qamrul Islam has claimed the pictures of insect-infested wheat appearing in newspapers are not of the grain imported from Brazil.

He told Parliament on Tuesday, in response to query by MP Pir Fazlur Rahman, he was not involved in the import process and had not even seen the final bill. 

The minister said the published photographs and the allegations of rotten grain do not match the wheat in the granaries. 

“These pictures are not of our wheat,” he declared.

Wheat, if not properly stored, would rot no matter where it is kept, be it granaries or homes, he said. 

“The Directorate General of Food imports wheat. Any country other than Israel can take part in international tenders. 

“The (Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase), led by the finance minister, approves the lowest bidder and the Food Department pays the bills. 

“It does not come up to the food ministry; the Food Department does everything.”

The minister took a dig at the media, saying a newspaper published a report along with a ‘morbid picture’ of him. “Do you have samples? Test them. Do you have any proof to run such false and baseless accusations?”
 
Newspapers were claiming the wheat was ‘substandard’, he said. “But laboratory tests have proved it is fit for consumption. The wheat from Brazil looks bad, so no one likes it.
 
“But its quality is all right. If the quality is fine, why raise questions?”
 
Islam said his ministry had run several tests following the allegations. “The tests found the quality fine even four months after the import. The news reports are claiming the wheat is rotten and smelly. 
 
“I think the allegations are baseless.” 
 
The Awami League leader hinted the wheat affair was a ‘political conspiracy’, pointing out that 174,926 tonnes of the Brazilian grain had been distributed over the last four months.

There were no reports on its quality earlier; the ‘negative’ news began to appear only 10-15 days back, he said.
 
“A person filed a case with the High Court and BNP’s Joint Secretary General Khokan argued for him. Test findings of the department and of the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science have been submitted to the High Court. 
 
“Pre-shipment certificate also says it is fit for consumption.” 
 
He promised to provide samples to anyone interested in testing it and appealed against making ‘baseless’ and ‘malicious’ claims. 
 
“[Media] said police, army, BDR, everyone complained about the wheat. But I did not receive any complaint from them. Only a letter came from police asking to change the warranty.”
 
According to him, the grain is distributed from the granaries on the basis of their date of entry. “Those that come in first, go out first. So we told them there will not be a change in the warranty.”
 
The food minister said the government had not received any complaint of any police or BDR personnel falling ill after consuming the wheat. 
 
“I urge newsmen to refrain from making baseless claims. I am telling MPs these claims are unfounded and need not be heeded.”