Global grain market volatility ringing alarm bell

Despite the previous administration’s claim of attaining food sufficiency, Bangladesh’s food security has reached a profound structural crisis moment. Recently published data and statistics, according to a back-page report of this daily, indicate that persistent fluctuations in international grain markets, against rapidly evolving domestic economic demands, have exposed the country’s national food supply chain to an invisible yet formidable set of risks. On the one hand, the rapid expansion of the poultry, fisheries and food-processing industries has driven domestic demand for cereal grains such as wheat and maize to unprecedented levels, and the growing import dependency has left the national economy acutely vulnerable to disruptions in global supply chains on the other.
According to the latest projections by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Bangladesh will need to rely on approximately 9.1 million tonnes of imported grain in the 2026-27 marketing year, with wheat and maize accounting for a substantial proportion of this volume. Of particular concern, rising international market prices have driven up expenditure on wheat imports alone by approximately 66 per cent during the first quarter of the current financial year. More alarming is the fact that climate change-induced frequent floods and excessive rainfall have severely disrupted domestic agricultural production.
As reflected in the editorial analyses of leading international media outlets, no state can sustain its food security in the long run by being trapped in the quicksand of import dependence. So, we as a nation have to break this cycle, which would be impossible without increased investment in agricultural research and direct financial protection for marginalised farmers. At the same time, diversifying sources of grain imports and modernising the government’s strategic food reserves and distribution mechanisms are imperative.
Hence, the current government must now abandon complacency and confront the challenge with urgency and resolve. They should keep it in mind that food security is not simply a matter of balancing grain supply figures in statistical records but all about safeguarding the nutritional well-being of every individual, particularly those living on the margins of society. Instead of becoming blinded by the glossy figures of economic growth, the government must prioritise protecting ordinary people’s purchasing power and formulating a sustainable and forward-looking national food strategy capable of withstanding global economic shocks.