Elements of a National Food- Fortification Program for Bangladesh

Section 3: Potential Food-Fortification VehiclesWheat is consumed primarily in flat breadsknown as chapatis and parotas, althoughraised breads and pastries — often frombakeries — are also consumed in urban areas.The flat breads are made with whole-wheatflour known as atta, whereas breads andpastries are made with various grades of whiteflour known as maida.Production TechnologyThere are essentially two types of flour millsin Bangladesh: traditional chakki mills androller mills. Chakki mills are small stonemills, usually located in rural markets and insome urban commercial centers. Although theexact figure is unknown, there are commonlyreported to be thousands of chakki mills inBangladesh.Chakki mills, many imported from India,produce whole-wheat flour. These millstypically have the capacity to grind a few tonsof grain per day and operate on demand, ascustomers bring in grain for milling.Roller mills are the main source of flour forurban consumers, and most of those mills arelocated in or near urban centers, particularlyin the industrial areas of greater Dhaka andChittagong. According to recent studies, thereare about 260 roller mills in Bangladesh.These mills tend to be much larger thanchakki mills. It is reported that while dailymilling output of the roller mills rangesfrom 20 to 150 MT of wheat, nearly all havecapacities of over 50 MT/day.ProductsProducts of the mills vary depending upontheir markets and upon the capacity of theirequipment. It appears that all mills producesome combination of three basic items: maida,atta, and bran. Most mills also produce asmall amount of souji (farina), which is usedfor confections and pastries made for specialoccasions. A certain amount of bran is addedback to maida to make atta, and the rest ofthe bran is sold for cattle feed. Mills withmore-sophisticated equipment often make twoor three grades of maida — with the whitestgoing as their premium quality — while othermills make two grades of atta.Depending upon the technical characteristicsand commercial objectives of the mill, theproduct mix varies within the following ranges,as a percent of the original grain weight:Maida 60-65%Atta 20-25%Souji 2-3%Bran 15-20%Refraction (milling loss) 1-4%Atta produced by roller mills is differentfrom that produced by chakki mills in thatit normally contains less bran. It also variesin nutritional content, according to how itis made. Some mills appear to use only themill’s highest “ash stream,” sometimes called“red dog,” which has very high mineraland vitamin content. Other mills produce a“premium” (lighter color) atta that containsmore maida, but a reduced micronutrientcontent.Market StructureSince the chakki mills operate primarily ascustom mills (grinding wheat for individualcustomers), commercial marketing of wheatflour is mostly an activity of the roller mills.Roller mills produce mainly for the urbanmarket, but they also sell flour to merchantsand restaurants in rural areas, particularlythose within reach of the mills’ location.The exact size of the market served by theroller mills is not well understood. Within theindustry itself, it is often said that roller millsaccount for over half the flour consumed inthe country. But it is also said that roller millsproduce primarily for the urban market. Whatis not known is the extent to which roller-millflour penetrates the rural market.Bangladesh’s transport system placeslimitations on the marketing area that anygiven mill can serve. Nevertheless, roller-millflour does reach into rural markets to some8 MOST The USAID Micronutrient Program