Brazil has surpassed India to become the leading supplier of corn (maize) to Bangladesh, marking a notable change in the South Asian feed grain market.
Historically, India has dominated this trade route, benefiting from competitive pricing, geographical proximity, and efficiency in delivery. However, since 2024, this advantage has diminished as rising domestic demand for maize in India, particularly for ethanol production, has constrained its exportable surplus.
This shift has created an opportunity for Brazil, which has significantly increased its shipments to seize market share in Bangladesh, altering the landscape previously controlled by India.
Rising Demand
According to the latest report from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Brazil represented 78 percent of Bangladesh’s total corn imports up until February of the 2025-26 marketing year, establishing itself as the primary supplier. India and the United States each accounted for 11 percent during this timeframe. In total, Bangladesh imported nearly 1.5 million tonnes of corn during these months.
For the marketing year 2025-26, the report estimates Bangladesh’s corn imports will reach 1.8 million tonnes, reflecting increasing demand from a growing feed industry coupled with declining global prices. This figure represents a 27.2 percent increase from the previous year, with consumption rising in the poultry, dairy, and aquaculture sectors, where corn serves as a crucial feed component.
Bangladesh had previously imported about half of India’s maize exports in 2022. However, this share has significantly declined between 2023 and 2025 due to higher Indian prices and escalating domestic needs linked to ethanol blending and the feed industry.
In 2022, India exported over 3.55 million tonnes of maize, with an estimated 1.82 million tonnes going to Bangladesh. By 2023, exports to Bangladesh fell to over 0.55 million tonnes out of total exports of 2.33 million tonnes. In 2024, shipments to Bangladesh plummeted to just 16,266 tonnes, from a total of 0.50 million tonnes, and declined further to 11,991 tonnes from 0.44 million tonnes in 2025.
Higher Prices
Industry sources indicate that Indian maize has lost its competitive edge in global markets primarily due to elevated domestic prices, which have curtailed exports to Bangladesh.
Nonetheless, exports to Bangladesh have recently seen an uptick as domestic prices have softened, improving export parity, as noted by Rahul Chauhan. Shipments to other markets such as Nepal and Vietnam have increased, with Vietnam emerging as a relatively new buyer.
The USDA report also highlighted that U.S. corn has re-entered the Bangladesh market in the marketing year 2025/26 after an absence since 2018, with an estimated export volume of around 160,000 tonnes.
