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Look Towards A New Future

Aug 15, 2010

Bangladesh Agribusiness Report Q3 2010

Bangladesh Agribusiness Report Q3 2010

http://www.reportsandreports.com/market-reports/bangladesh-agribusiness-report-q3-2010/


Business Monitor International

Country Reports



Report Summary


BMI View: Bird flu has been a major threat to Bangladesh's poultry industry ever since it was first reported in the country in March 2007. These outbreaks have put a large strain on producers, particularly the thousands of small-scale poultry rearers, and work as a disincentive to investment in production. Meat consumption in the country's rural areas comes mainly from the subsistence rearing of livestock. In urban centres, most poultry is still sold as live birds in wet markets with only a small proportion sold as packaged meat, adding to the likelihood of more outbreaks. The most recent outbreak was reported in April 2010, with 12 reported outbreaks across the country, mostly in commercial farms, involving a total of 141,726 birds. Of these, 10,605 died and 131,121 were destroyed. In May, Bangladesh imposed a ban on poultry from India due to a bird flu outbreak in the country.
Key Views
  • With GDP per capita of only US$618 in 2009, meat consumption is low in Bangladesh. However, the country's poverty rate has fallen considerably over the past decade, while meat consumption has been on the rise. Poultry consumption is forecast to rise by 59.0% between 2009 and 2014.
  • The population of Bangladesh is forecast to grow by 8.2% from 2009 to 2014 to reach 156.6mn; this will be a key driver behind our forecast growth across key commodities such as wheat, rice and sugar.
  • Following a March 2010 tender, in April it was announced that the government will import 50,000 tonnes of parboiled rice, as a part of its plans to import 300,000 tonnes of rice in the current fiscal year in another push to keep down prices. ! With wheat prices rising rapidly in 2008, local consumption was hit hard as consumers substituted wheat products with cheaper foods, reflecting the elasticity of demand for this staple. Consumption is forecast to increase by 16.6% to 2014.
Key Developments
  • In 2010 we now forecast that rice production will fall slightly, by 1.96% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 32.39mn tonnes, though we have revised up this forecast following reports stating that the country is likely to have adequate monsoon rainfall over the summer months, which will boost production of the Aman variety of rice. Over our forecast period to 2014, we expect production to increase by 16.7% from the 2009 level to 38.54mn tonnes. This will be slightly over forecast domestic demand for that year.
  • Wheat production in Bangladesh has fallen rapidly in recent years, with output plummeting by 44.0% from 2003 to 2008 to 844,000 tonnes, while demand continues to rise. The main factor behind this extreme decline in output has been the trend of farmers switching to other crops such as corn and potatoes that offer better returns. In the 2008/09 production year, output is estimated to have bounced back, growing 17.8% y-o-y to 994,000 tonnes, with further growth of 4.3% expected in 2010.
  • With Bangladesh's already high population density of around 1,050 people per square kilometre and annual population growth running at over 2%, agricultural land is going to come under increasing pressure for other uses such as habitation and industry. This could see falls in acreage given to grain cultivation, potentially putting downside risks on our forecasts unless yields can be improved significantly.