Miller Magazine Issue: 153 September 2022

92 COUNTRY PROFILE MILLER / SEPTEMBER 2022 for the economy of Bangladesh. Nearly half of all Bangladeshis are employed in agriculture and a ma- jority of the rural population is involved in fisheries. Most agricultural production in Bangladesh is char- acterized as traditional subsistence farming. Ban- gladesh produces a variety of agricultural products such as rice, wheat, corn, legumes, fruits, vegeta- bles, meat, fish, seafood, and dairy products. Rice is the main staple in the Bangladeshi diet. Lack of arable land and limited natural resources increase the importance of developing new ag- ricultural technologies, such as salt tolerant or submergence tolerant seed varieties, to help increase productivity and meet future demand. Floods, cyclones, and biotic-abiotic stress can also affect agricultural productivity levels and incomes. Although Bangladesh imports bulk commodities such as wheat, soybeans, and pulses, there are niche segment opportunities for high-value agricul- tural product imports, particularly in more affluent ur- ban centers such as Dhaka and Chittagong. Strong consumer demand exists for imported fresh fruits, tree nuts, and dairy products, as well as processed food products. RICE PRODUCTION In its latest report released on 25th July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricul- tural Service (FAS) post in Dhaka forecasts Bangla- desh’s 2022/2023 season rice production at 35.65 million tons. Heavy rainfall and flash floods in June 2022 damaged Aus season rice in the northern and northeastern parts of the country. Heavy rainfall in the northern and northeastern re- gions of Bangladesh and the adjacent Indian states of Assam and Meghalaya caused severe flooding in Sylhet and Sunamganj districts in mid-June 2022. According to Bangladesh’s Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, around 90 percent of Sunamganj and 80 percent of Sylhet district were submerged, and the floods directly affected over 4 million peo- ple across both districts. The flooding also affected adjacent districts in the Bhramaputra river basin in- cluding Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, and Tangail. Local media reported that the floods damaged over 56,000 hectares of Aus season. In July 2022, the average retail price of low-qual- ity (coarse) rice was $0.56 per kilogram, approxi- mately 13 percent high- er than the same period last year. The retail price of coarse rice has been trending upward since September 2021 and reached a record high in July 2022. The recent economic turmoil driv- en by higher fuel costs and record high inflation is contributing to rising rice prices. In May 2022, Bangladesh experienced its highest inflation rate in the past five years. For the 2022/2023 season, USDA’s Dhaka post forecasts rice imports at 600 thousand tons. Post also revised its 2021/2022 rice imports estimate to 1.3 million tons. Rice Production, Consumption and Exports in Bangladesh (1000 Tons) 2020/2021 2021/2022 2022/2023 Production 34600 35850 36000 Consumption 36100 36500 36800 Import 1400 1300 600 Source: USDA Wheat Production, Consumption and Exports in Bangladesh (1000 Tons) 2020/2021 2021/2022 2022/2023 Production 1180 1130 1100 Consumption 8000 8500 8700 Import 7200 7500 7000 Source: USDA Corn Production, Consumption and Exports in Bangladesh (1000 Tons) 2020/2021 2021/2022 2022/2023 Production 4700 4700 4850 Consumption 6900 7000 7050 Import 2434 1945 2200 Source: USDA