Miller Magazine Issue: 132 December 2020

BANGLADESH 83 MILLER / december 2020 tion target for wheat at 1.3 MMT during Bangladesh’s FY2020/21. Bangladesh’s wheat consumption forecast in MY 2020/21 is 7.55 MMT. If realized, the consumption of wheat would increase 2 percent in MY2020/21 relative to 2019/2020. The increase is driven by a growing pref- erence for wheat in aquaculture feed and consumer pref- erence for wheat-based products in Bangladesh, despite a slight downturn in consumption of baked goods from the hotel, restaurant, and Institution (HRI) sector as a result of COVID-19, USDA said. With the continuous fall of wheat production in Ban- gladesh, the country’s dependency on wheat imports is increasing over time. Wheat import requirements, which account for the largest share of the grain imports, are es- timated at a near-record level of 6.1 million tonnes in the 2020/21 marketing year, 10 percent above the previous five-year average, following a steady increasing trend since 2012/13. The strong demand for wheat largely re- flects a shift in local diet preferences. Bangladesh’s wheat import will be driven by the private industry. From July to September 2020, the private indus- try’s import of wheat was 1.3 MMT. Wheat is imported at a zero tariff rate and importers prefer to import durum, soft, red hard winter or milling wheat. Bangladesh has become one of the major export destinations for Canada. Along with Canada, Bangladesh imports wheat from Rus- sia, Ukraine, Argentina, Australia and some other coun- tries to meet its local demand for wheat. CORN PRODUCTION USDA forecasts Bangladesh’s MY 2020/21 corn pro- duction at 4.5 MMT, as a result of the growing demand for corn in the feed industry and improved yields. If real- ized, this crop would be a 9.7 percent increase over US- DA’s official 2019/20 crop estimate. The Ministry of Ag- riculture has set the annual food grain production target for corn at 5.69 MMT during Bangladesh’s FY2020/21. USDA’s forecast for Bangladesh’s corn consumption in MY 2020/21 is 5.5 MMT. If realized, the consumption of corn would increase 5.8 percent in MY2020/21 rela- tive to 2019/2020. The increase is driven by a growing preference for corn in feed production and the increasing size of Bangladesh’s feed industry. According to a recent FAO report, corn has two distinct uses in Bangladesh. It is a major ingredient in feed for livestock and fish, and for humans, it is used for popcorn and corn flour. Surveys in- dicate that a few companies have started producing corn starch for industrial purposes in response to the crisis, though the extent of these actions and their durability following the end of the lockdown needs to be verified. However, it was reported by the Maize Association of Bangladesh that popcorn processing had been halted as its sales as a street food declined to insignificant levels during the pandemic. FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY IN BANGLADESH Bangladesh has a strong growing food processing sec- tor, which heavily relies on domestic agricultural produc- tion and mainly focuses on serving domestic demands. Despite having good potential for high volume export, these potentials have not been exploited to the fullest. The food processing includes rice and wheat milling, sug- ar refining, production of edible oils, processing and pre- serving of fruits and fruit juices as well as fish processing, both white fish and shrimps. Processed food represents one of the major potential sectors in terms of its contribution to value addition and employment. The sector accounts for over 22% of all manufacturing production and employs about 20% of the labor force. All food processing enterprises account for 5% of GDP (around 4.48 bill USD). As rice is the staple cereal in Bangladesh and with the increase of both the population size and life expec- tancy at birth, it has given the rice processing industry a stable outlook. Most of the rice mills in Bangladesh are located in Dinajpur district and other northern dis- tricts. Over the last decade, several hundred automatic and semi-automatic rice mills commenced, in various rice producing zones. Naogaon, Chapainawabganj, Di- najpur, Kushtia, Khulna, Barisal and Noapara of Jashore are some districts that have attracted investment to set up big automatic rice mills. Presently, there are ap- proximately 17,000 chatals, 500 semi-automatic rice mills and 400 fully automatic rice mills operating in Bangladesh. Rice Production, Consumption and Import in Bangladesh (1000 Tons) 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 Production 34,909 35,850 35,997 Consumption 35,400 35,800 36,300 Imports 400 30 500 Source: USDA Wheat Production, Consumption and Import Rice Production, Consumption and Import in Bangladesh (1000 Tons) 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 Production 34,909 35,850 35,997 Consumption 35,400 35,800 36,300 Imports 400 30 500 Source: USDA Wheat Production, Consumption and Import in Bangladesh (1000 Tons) 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 Production 1100 1200 1250 Consumption 7175 7400 7550 Imports 5100 6800 6600 Source: USDA Rice Production, Consumption and Import in Bangladesh (1000 Tons) 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 Production 34,909 35,850 35,997 Consumption 35,400 35,800 36,300 Imports 400 30 500 Source: USDA Wheat Production, Consumptio and Import in Bangl desh (1000 Tons) 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 Production 1100 1200 1250 Consumption 7175 7400 7550 Imports 5100 6800 6600 Source: USDA Corn Production, Consumption and Import in Bangladesh (1000 Tons) 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 Production 3500 4100 4500 Consumption 4900 5200 5500 Imports 1335 1368 1500 Source: USDA