Bangladesh's Import of US Corn Shocks India

10-Jan-2026 12:36 PM

New Delhi. After a long gap of almost eight years, Bangladesh has resumed importing corn from the United States.

A ship carrying 58,000 tons of American corn arrived at the Chittagong port in Bangladesh recently. The import of this yellow corn, produced in the US states of Minnesota and North and South Dakota,

is likely to be a setback for India, as Bangladesh had been primarily dependent on India for its corn imports for the past few years.

The last time Bangladesh imported corn from the US was in 2018. After that, it started purchasing Indian corn.

In 2024, Bangladesh attempted to import corn from Latin American countries like Brazil and Argentina because the price of Indian produce was high and there was also a shortage of exportable stock.

Previously, Bangladesh had imported a large quantity of Indian corn during 2023, valued at $171 million. However, during 2024-25, 93 percent of Bangladesh's corn requirements were met by imports from Brazil alone, while 4 percent was imported from Argentina and 2 percent from Pakistan.

As far as India is concerned, its corn exports during the financial year 2024-25 had declined to their lowest level in the last five years. However, the performance in the current financial year is better.

According to available data, corn exports from India improved to 284,000 tons during April-December 2025, which is about 20 percent higher than the 236,000 tons shipped during April-December 2024. 

Export earnings also increased from $87.63 million to $112.49 million during this period. Bangladesh is now showing very little interest in buying Indian maize, instead prioritizing imports of genetically modified (GM) maize from the US and Brazil. This will force Indian exporters to focus on other countries, including Malaysia and Vietnam.