Bangladesh to import $3.5b worth of agricultural products

Under a trade agreement with the United States, Bangladesh will import agricultural products worth about US $3.5 billion from the country each year.

This commitment is included in Clause 6 of the “commercial understanding” section of the agreement signed between the two countries last Monday.

However, questions have emerged among businesspeople and researchers over how feasible such a large volume of imports would be in practice.

Importers say that fulfilling the commercial understanding will require protection and policy support for industries dependent on imported agricultural raw materials.

Researchers, meanwhile, warn that granting tariff concessions on large volumes of imports from the US, as stipulated in the agreement, could put pressure on government revenue.

Clause 6 of the trade agreement, in Paragraph 3 of the “commercial understanding” section, states that Bangladesh will take steps to purchase US agricultural products to ensure food security. These include wheat (at least 700,000 tonnes annually for five years), soybeans and soybean products (at least $1.25 billion or 2.6 million tonnes per year), and cotton. Altogether, the estimated annual value of agricultural imports will be about $3.5 billion.

Bangladesh imports roughly $15 billion worth of agricultural products annually. Due to distance and higher transport costs, imports from the US had historically been relatively limited.

After the imposition of recirocal tariffs, however, various initiatives led to an increase in imports. Even so, in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, the figure has not yet crossed $1 billion.

Wheat imports from the US had been irregular. Cotton, soybean seeds, and peanuts were also imported, though in small quantities. Following reciprocal tariffs, the government initiated wheat imports from the US last July.

Around the same time, a delegation of business leaders visited the United States and pledged to increase imports. Since then, import volumes have begun to rise.

In the first seven months (July–January) of FY2024–25, Bangladesh imported $270 million worth of agricultural products from the US.

In the same period of the current FY2025–26, this rose to $920 million. The largest share was soybean seeds — about 1.1 million tonnes worth roughly $470 million. Cotton imports amounted to about $210 million, while wheat imports were valued at about $130 million.

In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, Meghna Group of Industries (MGI) imported the largest volume of agricultural products from the US. The group brought in 633,000 tonnes of soybean seeds worth $260 million — 28 per cent of Bangladesh’s total imports from the US. These seeds are used to produce soybean oil and animal feed.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, MGI chairman Mostafa Kamal said that importing 2.6 million tonnes of soybean seeds annually would require protection for the domestic soybean crushing industry. Imposing tariffs on finished products such as soy cake made from soybean seeds, he argued, would encourage raw material imports.

The government’s Directorate General of Food emerged as the second-largest importer, bringing in wheat worth about $118.4 million during the same period. Saiham Group ranked third, importing cotton worth around $85 million.

Delta Agrofood Industries, a joint venture between Samuda Group and Seacom Group, ranked fourth with soybean seed imports worth $76.6 million, while City Group ranked fifth with imports worth $42.1 million.

Amirul Haque, managing director of Delta Agrofood Industries, said that importing $3.5 billion worth of agricultural products annually from the US would be possible if the necessary policy support were provided.

However, businesspeople in the textile sector noted that provisions in the trade agreement allowing garments exported using US cotton to avoid reciprocal tariffs could lead to increased cotton imports from the United States.

Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said importing $3.5 billion in agricultural products annually would require partially bypassing normal market competition.

According to him, the government might purchase from the US at higher prices even if cheaper alternatives were available elsewhere. The private sector, however, typically sources goods from the lowest-cost suppliers.

To boost US-oriented imports, subsidies or special incentives might be needed, raising policy concerns, Mustafizur Rahman added.