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Three major Bangladeshi industrialists—Meghna Group of Industries, City Group, and Delta Agrofood Industries—have signed a letter of intent (LOI) to buy soybeans worth a total of $1 billion from the United States in a year. Of this, Meghna Group of Industries alone will import one million tons of soybean seeds, which is almost half of the total imports.
This information was announced at a function organized by the US Embassy in Dhaka, the US-based organization US Soybean Export Council (USSEC), and US Soy at a hotel in the capital on Tuesday (November 4) evening, and the LOI was officially signed between the three organizations.
After signing the LOI, US Charge d'Affaires in Dhaka, Tracy Jacobson, said, "We are actually talking about the overall economic relationship between the two countries, of which agriculture is a significant part." She said that last year, trade between the United States and Bangladesh was worth $779 million, and this year it is expected to exceed $1 billion. He said, ‘We have reached $350 million to $1 billion. This is a threefold increase. This proves the strength and potential of the Bangladesh market.’
Delta Agrofood Industries Limited Managing Director Amirul Haque said at the event that the quality of US products is always better than others. He also said that there is currently a trade deficit of about $6 billion between the two countries. However, if LPG, crude oil, and soybeans can be imported, it will be possible to do $3.5 billion in trade between the two countries.
Meghna Group of Industries Director Tanjima Binte Mustafa said that they are proud to be part of the partnership to further strengthen Bangladesh’s food and feed supply system by importing soybeans from the US. City Group Managing Director, Md. Hassan said that their cooperation with the US is important to ensure quality and sustainability in Bangladesh’s food supply chain.
According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), soybean seeds are mainly imported from Brazil and the US. In the last fiscal year, a total of 1.735 million tons of soybeans worth $780 million were imported, of which soybean seeds worth $350 million were imported from the United States.
Source: Online/GFMM
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