[🇧🇩] Food Processing Industry in Bangladesh

[Bilal9]

Processed food industry grew 8% annually since 2005

Bangladesh’s $8 billion food processing industry has annually grown by 8 percent on an average between 2005 and 2023, powered by rising middle-class and urban consumer demand for convenience, said the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

www.thedailystar.net

Processed food industry grew 8% annually since 2005
Rising middle class and urban consumer demand behind the push: USDA

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Bangladesh's $8 billion food processing industry has annually grown by 8 percent on an average between 2005 and 2023, powered by rising middle-class and urban consumer demand for convenience, said the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

"The processed food and beverage industry has seen notable growth in recent years," said the agency in a July 1 report prepared as a guide for US exporters on Bangladesh's market.
"The processed food market is highly competitive as the domestic food industry is expanding investments to export to the world. Popular processed foods include snacks, ready-to-eat meals, frozen items, drinks and beverages, and dairy products," it said.

And the expansion of modern retail is also a reason behind the increased demand for processed foods, it said.

The report said an increasing percentage of upper-middle to upper-class consumers are shopping at modern retail outlets due to greater convenience.

"Consumers in higher income brackets prefer international brands, including products from a specific country of origin which, they believe, indicates safety and quality," it said.

It said the modern retail sector currently constitutes about 2 to 3 percent of total retail sales in Dhaka, Chattogram, and Sylhet.

Bangladesh's modern food retail industry has approximately 40 companies with over 750 outlets.

From 2015 to 2023, the annual turnover for members of the Bangladesh Supermarket Owners Association grew from around $200 million to $350 million, according to the report.

"Modern retailing, including supermarkets and convenience stores, is growing in Bangladesh as consumers attach more importance to appearance, ambience, comfort; and the availability of a vast range of products," it said.

The USDA report said modern retail chains are striving to differentiate themselves from wet markets by offering more varied, high-quality products and convenience.

"However, they also have challenges, such as cold chain capacity, food preservation and packaging, and general transportation logistics," it said.

The growth of e-commerce is thriving in the urban food and non-food retail market. The adoption of digital technologies and e-commerce is expected to play a crucial role in shaping the future of the sector, it said.

It said rising per capita income, increased urbanisation, higher female labour force participation and the resulting lifestyle changes are fuelling demand for processed dairy products, bakery products, readymade meals, confectionery, breakfast cereals, baby food and non-alcoholic beverages.

"A growing number of quick-service restaurants, and e-commerce food delivery to meet the demand for Asian and Western cuisines are driving import demand," it added.

The USDA report said Bangladesh's import of consumer-oriented food products increased from $1.7 billion in 2019 to $2 billion in 2022.

However, import of consumer-oriented foods declined slightly to $1.99 billion in 2023, it said.

The report said the US was Bangladesh's 17th largest supplier in 2022, but in 2023, its position rose two spots to 15th.

This represents an 80 percent increase in its exports year-on-year to $17.1 million in 2023, it said.

However, the value of consumer-oriented product exports from the US makes up less than one percent of its total agricultural exports to Bangladesh, it said.

Shipment of agricultural products from America fell 17 percent year-on-year to $781 million in 2023, according to the report.​

Processed food sector is only substituting for imports currently (powder milk and other staples like seafood and processed agri-products like fruit and coconut juice being the lion's share). However eventually a very large portion will be going to exports.

Thailand and Vietnam (to some extent China, Indonesia and Philippines as well) are successful in exporting processed food to the US market.

Bangladesh being a far lower cost producer could easily replicate the success of these exporters, provided (and this word will do a lot of heavy lifting) we can enforce a strict HACCP Health standards regime and take care of the cold-chain logistics problem in a tropical country like ours.

Hazard analysis and critical control points - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Implementing HACCP and cold-chain will also help export of easily perishable fruits like strawberries etc. and of course fresh flowers to the wholesale markets in the Netherlands and nearer to home in Western China (floriculture wholesale markets in Kunming).

But unfortunately we have a bunch of illiterate people (State Ministers) in charge of implementing these policies and they are interested in little more than issuing word-salads and of course, lining their own pockets by illegally blackmailing exporters.

In food processing where these latter factors (HACCP, Cold-Chain) aren't issues (e.g. spice-mixes and baked items like cookies and chips), companies like PRAN are already a rip-roaring success in over a hundred countries.

Please all read the following article about Thailand's processed food exports, which we can learn a lot from.

Thailand's Processed Food Exports: Pattern and Structure

ABSTRACT The importance of Thai processed food products (TPFPs) has increased as a major export product of Thai agricultural and agri-food sectors over the past few decades.

ap.fftc.org.tw

 

[Bilal9]

While Bangladesh is in the top ten list concerning many staple agri items, it is overall the third largest food importer in the world, after China and the Philippines. Which is hardly surprising, considering the amount of staples used in the food processing sector targeted at a large (18 crore) population.

https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/334787/fao-bangladesh-3rd-largest-food-importer-in-the

 

[Bilal9]

Dhaka’s lively bakery scene​

As a city, Dhaka is rich in terms of culture and tradition, and what forms a big part of our heritage is the food we have carried down from generation to generation. Apart from the usual Bengali cuisine that we have, with various renditions in the many regions of our country and some holding their unique specialty, Dhaka reigns in the bakery scene. From the gems of the old town to the now trending and much-hyped fusion food as an offshoot of globalisation, the bakery scene of Dhaka has come a long way.

A hit of nostalgia​

If we are to historically track down the bakery scene of Dhaka, bakarkhani is a good place to start. The story of the bakarkhani dates back to the Mughal period when it was widely popular among the merchants and citizens of Dhaka. Now, bakarkhani is a food that has received recognition globally.

For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.​

Fasttrack to some hundred years later, the bakery scene in the old town is still vibrant and we have now been introduced to the world of biscuits and cookies in various shapes, sizes, and flavours. Some of the oldest bakeries of Dhaka are Prince of Wales Bakery & Confectionery, Olympia Bakery & Confectionery, Ananda Confectionery, and Yousuf Bakery & Confectionery.

"Patties, biscuits, and vanilla cakes were the prominent items back then. With minimal offerings, hot patties sold in tin boxes by hawkers would get us children excited!" said Taskin Rahman, Founder of The Food Talk, which is a Facebook community for food enthusiasts.

The '90s saw the advent of cake shops and bakeries that revved up the baking scene. With Sausly's Foods bringing in new items like sugar puffs, Swiss Bakery with their plain cake, and Shumi's Hot Cake Ltd. stunning everyone with their marvellous creations, it was a time when the bakery scene of Dhaka was abuzz, and we had something to look forward to apart from white bread and biscuits.

Nevertheless, no matter how much the scene evolves in Dhaka, bakarkhani, biscuits, and patties will always be remembered as the original baked goods of Dhaka. They may be simple, humble food, but are crafted with the essence of culture and a hit of nostalgia.

Foreign influence​

History may be etched but change is constant, and foreign influence in our local cuisine was the next big thing. Owing to the increase in travel worldwide, coupled with globalisation, we were introduced to a host of other cuisines globally from the 2000s. This not only gave us an assortment of options to satiate our taste buds but also made a gateway for a slew of bakery stores to open up.

Shadman Shahriar, co-founder of Basic Kneads, a specialty food shop, remarked, "There exists a customer base for the authentic taste of global cuisines, and then there are ones who would rather prefer an infusion of our local tastes. However, overall, the preference for international cuisines has seen a good acceptance rate from people."

One major addition from foreign cuisine that altered the bakery scene of Dhaka is the humble bread — apart from plain white bread, we now have a host of options to choose from including sourdough (which is the oldest bread in the world!), ciabatta, baguette, brioche, and a surge in liking for croissants.

Foreign influence in Dhaka's bakery scene has shaped it up for the better.

From passionate bakers to entrepreneurs

Over the last few years, the introduction of e-commerce has made starting your own business extremely easy and affordable. Taking advantage of platforms as such, a surge in the number of home bakers turned entrepreneurs was seen. This was also fuelled by the pandemic when people started to explore food and try their hand at cooking.

Now, we see a lot of bakeries that are operating virtually and providing all sorts of delectable items, from humble homemade cookies to fancy multi-tiered wedding cakes. Making cakes that look like edible pieces of art using fondants and decorations got the cake business booming. From plain vanilla pastries that we had during the '90s, we can now turn anything we imagine into a cake using fondants!

There are many bakers out there who started online out of sheer passion but then converted to brick-and-mortar stores based on their massive success, and one such example is Sugar Shots.

"It took us a few years, but we got there. Sugar Shots has moved out of their home kitchen and is now ready to bake from a commercial kitchen!" remarked Naba Habib Belim, co-owner of Sugar Shots.

More so, many avid bakers are now pursuing professional degrees in the culinary arts, something that was once upon a time unthinkable by many. This has produced several brilliant homegrown bakers; take The Flourist and Dessert Boutique by Nadia Lakhani for example.

What is next on the table?​

The bakery scene has evolved massively over the past few years, especially in the last three decades, and it continues to do so. While these changes came through, knowingly or unknowingly, we have embraced the coffee culture, and it seems like a promising practice that is here to stay.


Embracing the coffee culture so vastly can be credited to the new generation of people consisting of millennials and Gen Z, who are too busy to cook and are always on the go. Thus, it is foreseen that shortly, more pop-up bakeries will open up that offer food on the go – maybe a quick croissant, sandwich, etc. We are already seeing this trend in Dhaka – think of the success of Waffle Up!

Apart from that, cloud kitchen is another phenomenon that has grasped the bakery scene of Dhaka. The advent of cloud kitchens has enabled so many keen bakers to turn their passion into a profession and provided a host of options for people to choose from when it comes to ordering online. Cloud kitchens and coffee shops are mushrooming all over the city and it is a matter of time before pop-up stores jump on the bandwagon.

The bakery scene of Dhaka has seen massive progress and has come a long way, a journey that was filled with several milestones and surprises. We cannot wait to see what the future holds!

Photos: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

Food: The Flourist

 

[Saif]

Experts urge strategic focus to tap global halal market

Bangladesh should focus on strategic planning, quality production, and effective marketing to tap the potential for grabbing the huge global market of Halal-certified products, which is estimated at $3.3 trillion. All stakeholders to the production and marketing of such products should work in coo

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Experts urge strategic focus to tap global halal market

FE REPORT
Published :
Jul 06, 2025 08:32
Updated :
Jul 06, 2025 08:32

Bangladesh should focus on strategic planning, quality production, and effective marketing to tap the potential for grabbing the huge global market of Halal-certified products, which is estimated at $3.3 trillion.

All stakeholders to the production and marketing of such products should work in coordination to boost the country's export earnings.

Experts made the suggestions at a workshop on 'Halal Market, Production Methods, and Certification Process' organised by the Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) at its office in the city's Tejgaon area on Saturday, says a statement.

Secretary to the Ministry of Industries Md Obaidur Rahman was present as the chief guest while BCI President Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury (Parvez) presided over the event.

Bangladesh Competition Commission's former director Khalid Abu Naser, Deputy Director of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) S. M. Abu Sayed, and its Assistant Director Rebeka Sultana were present as discussants while BCI Secretary General Dr Helal Uddin moderated the workshop. Some 22 representatives of different stakeholders organisations took part in the workshop.

Addressing the participants, Mr Obaidur Rahman said the global halal market is one of the fastest-growing sectors.

"Not only Muslims, but non-Muslim consumers are also showing interest in halal products due to their health and safety assurances," he said, adding that the concept of 'Halal' now spans beyond food to cosmetics, medicines, clothing, tourism, and many other sectors.

The largest consumer countries of halal merchandise include Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey, with demand rising in Europe, he said.

He also said Muslim-majority Bangladesh has enormous potential for halal product exports.​