As a nation, Bangladesh bases its very identity on agriculture. Which is why it is all the more surprising when food security often crops up as an issue for us.
According to a new report from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization wing, Bangladesh ranked third among food-importing countries for importing around 12.5 million tons of food products from the global market in 2021 which also states that Bangladesh produced around 93.3 million tons of agricultural produce in the same year -- the highest expenditure being made on importing wheat, edible oil, and milk powder.
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Relying on imports for basic food necessities is a poor solution in the long term given the high costs, costs which are inevitably passed on to consumers compounded by inflation-based price-gouging -- which is why it makes sense when the FAO report also claims that the per capita consumption of those staples are at their lowest.
Due to convenience of international trade, Bangladesh has grown far too accustomed to relying on our trading partners to meet demand for produce, but this can have drastic setbacks as was already observed when it comes to oil due to disturbances in the international market -- relying on others also means that there are gaps in our safety nets, gaps that can turn into serious issues if we are not careful.
This needs to change.
The government, along with its relevant partners, needs to ensure that food security remains a national priority. While the ministry of agriculture has announced that increasing the production of import-dependent food products is being increased, such announcements need to be backed up with potential timelines and carefully laid-out strategies on how the goal can be achieved.
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
