Source: Oleoscope (Russia)
According to data from the German analytical portal Oil World, cited by APK-Inform, Bangladesh’s combined imports of soybean and palm oil surged to a record 0.77 million tons in the first quarter of 2025. This marks a significant increase compared to the same period last year, when imports totaled only 0.43 million tons, nearly half the current amount.
Argentina and Brazil served as the primary exporters of these oils to Bangladesh. This sharp rise in imports is linked to a severe shortage of vegetable oils that the country experienced early this year. Analysts note that the previous government had maintained stable domestic vegetable oil prices to curb inflation, despite global price increases.
In early April, the newly installed government responded by raising local prices and removing a 5% advance tax on crude soybean and palm oil imports. This policy change aims to facilitate the processing of larger quantities of raw materials and accelerate their distribution to consumers.
In 2024, Bangladesh emerged as one of the top ten importers of Russian agricultural and food products, dramatically boosting its purchases of Russian mustard seeds sixfold, reaching 30,000 tons. Additionally, the country imported 570 tons of sunflower oil in 2024, a product not brought in during 2023.