The agricultural machinery sector in Bangladesh faces significant challenges due to dollar crisis impact on imports. The price of agricultural machinery has surged by around 30 percent after a 27 percent rise in the US dollar exchange rate. The Bangladesh Bank is allocating dollars from reserves for essential imports, but there is inadequate focus on providing foreign currency for agricultural machinery imports.
This shortfall in foreign currency allocation affects the entire agricultural sector, with reduced access to machinery impacting food production. Tractors, a vital part of the sector, have experienced a sales decline of 5,200 units in the first nine months of the current year. Sales of combine harvesters have also decreased, reflecting the adverse impact of the dollar crisis. However, corporate entities such as Metal Group and ACI dominate the market. Despite the challenges, foreign companies have expressed interest in investing in agricultural machinery production in Bangladesh, which could alleviate the import dependency.
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