Bangladesh reviews embargo on soybean meal

Currently, there is an embargo on the export of soybean meal from October 2020 to limit rising prices of critical ingredients in poultry and cattle feed and protect the country's dairy and poultry industries. The Bangladesh government has begun an examination of the general features of the proposed lifting of the existing export prohibition on soybean meal. On 13 December 2021, the commerce ministry appointed a committee to offer recommendations to the government over whether or not the present export ban should be repealed. The deadline for the committee to deliver its findings has been set for December 31.

According to dairy and poultry industry executives, if the government lifts the current ban on the export of soybean meal, dairy, and other associated food costs will rise much more. Bangladesh's total demand for soybean meal is estimated to be between 2.5 and 2.6 million MT per year. Bangladeshi soybean cake, soymeal, and soybean are in high demand in countries such as Nepal, Cambodia, India, and Thailand. The annual soybean meal production capacity of the industrial groups Meghna, City, Globe, KBC, and Jamuna is roughly 5.0 million MT. Those industry groups stated that the export embargo had resulted in massive losses for soybean seed crushing companies