Elements of a National Food- Fortification Program for Bangladesh

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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
Section 3: Potential Food-Fortification Vehiclesextent. It is estimated that about one-third ofthe flour produced by roller mills is sold torural consumers. It is also estimated (Rassasand Fitch 2002) that roller-mill productionaccounts for about 48 percent of the wheatflour consumed in Bangladesh.SugarProductionIn Bangladesh, sugar production is basedupon the sugarcane industry, whichproduces over 7 million MT of sugarcaneannually over an area of 180,000 hectares inthe north-west and south-west. It is estimatedthat about 0.5 million farmers are involved insugarcane production. Sugarcane farming issupported by the Bangladesh Sugar ResearchInstitute, headquartered in Ishurdi, Pabna,about 250 km north-west of Dhaka. TheInstitute conducts research on sugarcane, gur(molasses), and cane juice. Its mandate isTable 3.3: Sugar Production in Bangladesh, 1993-94 (MT)Year Capacity Production1993-94 202,050 221,5471994-95 198,440 270,1961995-96 195,440 183,9341995-96 210,440 135,3201995-96 210,440 166,4571998-99 210,440 152,9791999-00 210,440 123,4982000-01 210,440 98,3552001-02 210,440 204,3292002-03 210,440 177,3992003-04 210,440 119,390Source: BSFICTable 3.4. Official Sugar Imports in Bangladesh, 1990-2003 (MT)Year Government Private Sector Total1999-00 147,000 102,140 249,1402000-01 98,972 183,884 282,8562001-02 125,350 132,622 257,9722002-03 26,250 231,126 257,376Source: government import-data are from the BSFIC; private import data arefrom the National Board of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.to develop and disseminate new sugarcanevarieties and improved production technology.Although sugar production averaged about170,000 MT in the past 10 years and about145,000 MT in the past five years, it hasfluctuated widely — particularly in recentyears (table 3.3).Sugar is produced in 15 factories ownedby the Bangladesh Sugar and Food IndustriesCorporation (BSFIC), a state-owned company.BSFIC employs almost 17,000 workers andpurchases its sugarcane through a contractfarmingscheme that provides credit to farmersin the form of inputs and cash. 3Since 1995-96, competition with gurproducers, together with fluctuation insugarcane production, has resulted inunderutilization of BSFIC plant capacity (table3.3). Excess capacity averaged almost 60,000MT/year in the past ten years and more than80,000 MT/year in the past five years.Total production and official imports inthe past four years were about 410,000 MTper year on average (tables 3.3 and 3.4),equivalent to an average daily consumption of8.5g. This consumption figure is in line withestimates derived from national nutritionsurveydata. For instance, per capita sugarconsumption is estimated at 7g/day in Jahanand Hossain and ranges between 6.85g/day and 9.2g/day in Bangladesh Bureau ofStatistics 2001.Imports and ConsumptionOnly white sugar is imported in Bangladesh.Official imports averaged slightly more than260,000 MT in the past four years (table3.4). All sugar imports have been channeledthrough the private sector, except during afive-year period extending from 1998-99 to2002-2003. BSFIC has yet to import any sugarin 2003-2004.3 Contract farming is an institutional arrangement between farmers and buyers in which farmers supply produce according to specifiedproduction and management methods, while buyers retain responsibility for marketing operations and technical assistance.Elements of a National Food-fortification Program for Bangladesh9
Page 1 and 2: Elements of a National Food-Fortifi
Page 3 and 4: Elements of a National Food-Fortifi
Page 5 and 6: Table of Contents and AcronymsTable
Page 7 and 8: Table of Contents and AcronymsAcron
Page 9 and 10: SummaryElements of a National Food-
Page 11 and 12: Section 1: IntroductionSection 1: I
Page 13 and 14: Section 2: Nature of the Micronutri
Page 15 and 16: Section 2: Nature of the Micronutri
Page 17: Section 3: Potential Food-Fortifica
Page 21 and 22: Section 4: Cost Analysis of Food Fo
Page 23 and 24: Section 4: Cost Analysis of Food Fo
Page 25 and 26: Section 5: Elements of a National F
Page 27 and 28: Section 5: Elements of a National F
Page 29 and 30: ReferencesReferencesBangladesh Bure
Page 31 and 32: Annex TablesAnnex B: Estimated Cost
Page 34: Bangladesh has the necessary human

Elements of a National Food- Fortification Program for Bangladesh

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