Analysis of Agri-Food Trade Structures
To Promote Agri-Food Trade Networks
In the Islamic Countries
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Bangladesh’s agriculture sector is now transforming rapidly from low-input subsistence to
commercial agriculture with higher level of input use and different high value crop production,
especially in horticultural crops. Although Bangladesh has achieved self-sufficiency in food
grains, much still needs to be done to transform its agriculture sector towards commercial
farming, including developing value chain structures, minimizing postharvest losses, promoting
contract farming and groupmarketing, adopting international quality standards, following strict
compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary measures, ensuring quality packaging, enhancing
transportation and storage facilities, and improving market linkages for smallholder farmers
both with domestic and international markets.
Agricultural Trade Performance
Bangladesh implemented a series of reforms and agricultural trade liberalization measures
since the early 1990s aiming at increasing agricultural productivity and accomplishing self-
sufficiency in food grain production. Major deregulations in agricultural sector includes
liberalization of input markets, shrinking the role of government agencies in distribution of
inputs, substantial reduction and rationalization of tariffs, removal of quantitative restrictions
and moving from fixed to a flexible exchange rate system. Agricultural trade liberalization
resulted in major structural reforms and technological transformation in agricultural
production, enabling the country to achieve self-sufficiency in food grain production.
While the agricultural sector has made remarkable progress in terms of production and
diversification towards high value crops and non-crop agriculture during this period, exports of
agricultural products grew at slower pace than those of other sectors. Average growth of
agricultural export was approximately 4%during 2005-2015 period, while overall exports grew
by an average 24% annually during that period. However, imports of agricultural products
increased at an even faster rate than other sectors since 2005. Agricultural imports grew by an
average 32%per year compared to an average 28%growth of the country’s total imports (based
on UN Comtrade data).
and 28 show the product and market composition of Bangladesh’s agricultural trade
in 2015. As can be seen, the product breakdown of exports is dominated by fish products,
followed by agri-food products, then agricultural rawmaterials. In terms of destinations, Europe
and Central Asia dominates, followed by the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and East
Asia and the Pacific. On the import side, the product mix is dominated by agri-food products and
agricultural raw materials. Major sources of imports include East Asia and the Pacific, South
Asia, and Europe and Central Asia.
[accessedon1April2018]