Bangladesh has resumed importing corn from the United States after a gap of 8 years, marking a significant shift in its feed grain sourcing strategy amid changing global prices and trade considerations. The first shipment, carrying 57,855 tonnes of US corn, arrived at Chattogram port this week, according to the US Embassy in Dhaka. The last time Bangladesh imported corn from the US was in 2018.
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Traders and feed millers cited lower prices and consistent quality as the key reasons behind the renewed imports. US corn was priced $3–$5 per tonne cheaper than corn from Bangladesh’s regular suppliers, making it commercially attractive despite a longer shipping time of around 46 days, compared to 30 days from Brazil or Argentina. Industry players said adequate inventory planning helped absorb the longer transit period.
Bangladesh is the second-largest corn producer in the country after rice, yet it remains heavily dependent on imports to meet growing demand from the poultry and livestock feed sectors. In the 2024–25 marketing year, about 93 percent of Bangladesh’s corn imports came from Brazil, followed by 4 percent from Argentina and 2 percent from Pakistan.
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The move also aligns with broader trade engagement between Bangladesh and the US. Dhaka has agreed to increase imports from the US to help reduce an annual trade gap exceeding $6.2 billion, following which Washington lowered its reciprocal tariff rate for Bangladesh to 20 percent from 37 percent. Bangladesh has also signed an agreement to import 660,000 tonnes of US wheat, of which around 300,000 tonnes have already arrived