Potato exports halve as Mideast war drives up shipping costs
Bangladesh Potato Shipments Collapse by Half as Middle East Conflict Inflates Freight Rates
Bdbusinessdaily.com – Bangladesh's sea-borne potato trade has been cut roughly in half within a single fiscal year, a sharp contraction driven by the surge in ocean-freight prices triggered by the ongoing war in the Middle East. The disruption has rendered long-haul agricultural shipments economically unviable for many exporters, squeezing margins to the point where containers simply stop moving.
Figures compiled by the Plant Quarantine Centre at Chattogram Port show that potato volumes shipped through the country's principal seaport dropped by 19,939 tonnes on a year-on-year basis — a 49 per cent plunge. In fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25), Bangladesh dispatched 40,543 tonnes of potatoes via Chattogram. That figure collapsed to just 20,604 tonnes in FY26. The corresponding foreign-exchange receipts, tracked by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), fell from $14.30 million to $8.89 million, a loss of $5.41 million or 37.8 per cent in a single year.
Freight Rates Quadruple Overnight
Industry insiders attribute the collapse primarily to an extraordinary spike in container shipping costs. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have disrupted key maritime corridors, pushing rates to levels unseen in recent memory. For a commodity as low-value-per-tonne as potato, the arithmetic becomes punishing: a fourfold jump in freight costs can erase the entire profit margin on a shipment.
Mahbub Rana, president of the Chattogram Fresh Fruits, Vegetables and Products Exporters Association, described the magnitude of the price shock:
"Earlier, the freight for a container was around $2,500. Now it has risen to nearly $10,000."
Rana added that the transportation cost explosion has made potato exports "increasingly difficult for exporters, resulting in lower shipments." The association's members, many of whom operate on thin margins, found themselves unable to absorb the added expense without pricing their produce above what overseas buyers would pay.
Competition from Regional Producers
Shipping costs are not the sole pressure point. Bangladesh's potato exports face intensified competition from neighbouring and regional producers. Egypt and Syria, both major potato-growing economies, supply substantial volumes into Middle Eastern markets whenever their domestic harvests are strong. In FY26, bumper crops in those countries meant that Bangladeshi exporters were competing against larger, cheaper supply streams aimed at the same buyers.
"Alongside higher transportation costs, competition in the international market is another major reason behind the decline in Bangladesh's potato exports," Rana stated.
The combined effect — higher inbound logistics costs plus stronger rival supply — has left Bangladeshi potato exporters unable to maintain competitive pricing or sustain demand in overseas markets.
Domestic Supply Chain and Cold-Chain Bottlenecks
Even before the geopolitical shock, structural weaknesses in Bangladesh's potato export pipeline have limited the sector's capacity to operate year-round. Most export-grade potatoes originate from the Munshiganj, Rangpur, and Bogura districts. Farmers typically harvest and deliver produce in January and February, after which export shipments continue in a steady flow until roughly July. Beyond that window, potatoes held in conventional storage begin to sprout during the latter half of the calendar year, degrading quality to the point where they no longer meet import standards.
Exporter Md Forkan identified the cold-chain break as one of the most persistent operational challenges. Once potatoes leave cold storage, the grading, processing, and packaging stages consume considerable time during which the produce sits at ambient temperature. Even after loading into refrigerated (reefer) containers, preserving quality becomes difficult because the thermal damage has already occurred.
"This would require simplifying customs and quarantine procedures. If necessary, inspections and required tests could be conducted at the cold storage facilities," Forkan explained, arguing that direct loading from cold storage into reefer containers would dramatically reduce quality loss.
Industry voices consistently call for modernised cold-storage infrastructure and agro-processing units capable of extending the exportable window beyond the current seven-month season. Without such investment, Bangladesh's potato trade remains structurally seasonal and vulnerable to any external cost shock.
Where the Potatoes Went
Malaysia retained its position as Bangladesh's top potato export destination in FY26, absorbing shipments valued at $3.68 million. Nepal moved into second place with $3.52 million worth of imports. Other significant buyers included the United Arab Emirates ($767,604), Saudi Arabia ($282,366), Singapore ($224,704), Myanmar ($141,386), and Sri Lanka ($90,159). Smaller consignments went to Bahrain ($66,160), the Maldives ($59,440), Benin ($24,575), Brunei ($21,907), Qatar ($8,404), and Kuwait ($7,421).
The prior year's pattern was markedly different in scale. In FY25, Malaysia alone accounted for $7.32 million in potato imports — more than double its FY26 figure. Nepal followed at $2.38 million, the UAE at $1.56 million, Sri Lanka at $1.41 million, Singapore at $554,718, and Myanmar at $507,566. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Brunei, Qatar, the Maldives, and Kuwait collectively represented smaller but steady flows.
Institutional Response and Outlook
Subal Chakma, deputy director of the EPB's Chattogram office, indicated that the agency had no specific explanatory framework or formal assessment to offer regarding the magnitude of the decline. The bureau tracks volumes and values but does not publish causal attributions for year-on-year drops.
For a country that has spent two decades building a niche in the global fresh-potato trade, the FY26 contraction underscores how exposed low-value-per-tonne agricultural exports remain to geopolitical disruption in shipping lanes. Until freight normalises or domestic cold-chain and processing capacity expands to offset cost pressures, Bangladesh's potato exporters face a prolonged period of reduced volumes and compressed margins. The sector's long-term viability hinges on both external stability in maritime corridors and internal investment in post-harvest infrastructure.
Related Reading
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Potato exports halve as Mideast war drives?Potato exports halve as Mideast war drives is the main topic of this guide. The article explains the context, practical details, and next steps readers should understand.
Why does Potato exports halve as Mideast war drives matter?Potato exports halve as Mideast war drives matters because readers are looking for a useful answer, not just a short summary. Good content should match search intent and help them decide what to do next.