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Expanding opportunities for US soybeans in Bangladesh

The CEO of the US Soybean Export Council says although trade progress with China is great news for the agriculture industry, it’s important to strengthen and expand trading relationships with other countries.  

Jim Sutter highlighted a recent trip to Bangladesh and the country’s potential market demand for US soybeans.

“I was just in Bangladesh last week and that’s not a market that most people would think if you talk about where US soybeans go- that’s probably not the first place people would think of,” he says. “Last year, it was our number 13market for soybeans and this year I expect it’s going to climb up and may well be in the top ten.”

He says Bangladesh is a rapidly growing market…

“There are 160-170 million people living there, with very low consumption today of protein but rapidly increasing,” he says. “That’s’ the kind of market we’re looking at, where we see the good potential to grow demand in the future.”

Sutter says they also see good growth potential in Pakistan, Egypt, and Nigeria, where there are large populations, low protein consumption, and rising income levels.