Elements of a National Food- Fortification Program for Bangladesh

Section 5: Elements of a National Food-Fortification Programof the milling industry. As detailed below, thewheat-flour fortification program should relyon roller mills, not on chakki mills and shouldalso be private-sector driven and voluntary.ConsumptionPer capita wheat-flour consumption isestimated at 43g/day. Although per capitawheat-flour consumption in urban areasis higher than in rural areas, per capitaconsumption in rural areas (about 38g/day)is only 15-20 percent lower than the nationalaverage. As explained in section 4, fortificationof wheat flour would supply an adequateamount of about 20 percent of the EAR forvitamin A, iron, folate, B-12, B-1, B-2, B-6,niacin, and zinc.Fortification CostsAs detailed in the previous section,fortification costs for wheat flour are aboutTk293, or $5 per MT, and represent about 1.6percent of retail prices; these figures suggestthat the additional cost of fortification doesnot appear prohibitive to consumers.A Private-Sector-Driven ProgramThe pilot wheat-flour fortification programwas implemented in collaboration with theWorld Food Program (WFP) in support ofthe Vulnerable Group Development (VGD)program. Fortified atta for the VGD programis produced in special chakki mills that havebeen constructed with equipment (includingmicronutrient feeders) imported fromDenmark. These mills are operated by NGOs,under the close supervision of USAID andWFP. While this arrangement may be suitablefor the limited production envisaged under theongoing pilot activity, no mechanism is nowin place that will allow production to expandbeyond the VGD program or to continuebeyond WFP’s current programming cycle.There are two reasons for concluding thatthe current approach of producing fortifiedflour in small chakki mills operated byNGOs is neither institutionally viable noreconomically sustainable under a larger-scaleprogram. First, if the fortification of wheatflour is to expand on a sustainable basis, itmust be embedded in the prevailing flourproductionand -marketing system. Passed onto consumers, the costs of fortification willbe reflected in somewhat higher flour prices.Since the flour market in Bangladesh is drivenby a vibrant and highly competitive privatesector, any flour-fortification program shouldbuild on this private-sector-based structure.Second, due to the small size of thechakki mills, their large number, and theirdistribution in remote and scattered locationsin rural areas, they are difficult to regulate.It should be added that less-refined chakkimillflour contains larger quantities of naturalvitamins and minerals than does the refinedroller-mill maida.A Roller-Mill Driven Manufacturing MethodMilling capacity is a critical factor indetermining the ease and method offortification. Evidence from other countriessuggests fortification at medium (25–150 MT/day) and large mills (>150 MT/day) to bemost appropriate, whereas the feasibility andeffectiveness of fortification at smaller stone orhammer mills has yet to be established. Largemills invariably have more-modern equipmentand a higher technical capacity to integrate thefortification technology. Larger mills can alsomore easily amortize start-up costs and takeadvantage of various economies of scale inproduction and marketing. 6Chakki mills in Bangladesh typically havethe capacity to grind only a few tons of grainper day, whereas the capacity of roller millsranges from 20 to 150 MT/day. The fact thatmany of the roller mills are already usingplastic packaging and engage in advertisingbased on product quality also makes rollermills a logical place to initiate commercialfortification.6 See previous footnoteElements of a National Food-fortification Program for Bangladesh15