European firm LDC plans expansion in Bangladesh

French merchant firm Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) is planning to expand its operations in Bangladesh by importing products through its local office and supplying them directly to local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to sources from its South and South-East Asia in Singapore.

The company took the expansion decision after three years of its operation in the south asian country from 2022.

Established 174 years ago, LDC operates in more than 100 countries worldwide. It operates in Bangladesh under the name Louis Dreyfus Company Bangladesh Limited. Among the European agricultural commodity providers, it is the first firm to establish a direct operation in Bangladesh.

Now, Bangladesh imports agricultural and agro-processed products worth nearly $15 billion annually. The products include food for human consumption, animal feed, and raw materials for export-oriented industries. As demand continues to grow across these sectors, some international firms, including Agrocorp, Swiss Singapore, and ETG, have established offices in Bangladesh. LDC is now following suit by expanding its activities in line with market trends.

Rubens Marques, head of LDC’s South and South-East Asia office, said to a national daily newspaper that small and medium-sized processing companies in Bangladesh cannot import large volumes. The LDC aims to ease up the agricultural supply chain for them by directly importing through the local office. In the aftermath, the consumers will get agricultural products at competitive prices throughout the year.

According to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), around 5,500 companies import agricultural products into Bangladesh. Large industrial groups import in bulk by chartering ships, but many small firms do not have this capacity. The LDC is planning to bridge this gap by importing through its local office and distributing within the country.

Globally, the LDC collects and processes agricultural products from key producing regions and exports them across the world. The company operates a full supply chain from sourcing and processing to transportation and delivery. In India, for example, LDC has been operating since 1997 and has an edible oil refinery and a coffee processing plant.

Bangladesh imported agricultural products worth $15.06 billion in 2024, where the LDC supplied around $1.33 billion. The products supplied by them include wheat, soybean seeds, canola seeds, unrefined sugar, soybean oil, maize, soy cake, cotton, and other commodities. The LDC sourced them from 19 countries, with 65% coming from Brazil, Australia, and the United States. Major Bangladeshi conglomerates such as Meghna Group of Industries (MGI), City Group, TK Group, and Badsha Group are regular clients of the LDC.

Rubens Marques said his company is planning to increase product-specific supply to the local market, with an initial focus on food grains, oilseeds, and pulses.

Among the agricultural products, cotton is the most imported agricultural product for Bangladesh. According to NBR data, the country imported raw cotton worth $3.74 billion in the past year. It takes one to two months to import cotton from countries other than India. Hence, the LDC also has a plan to improve the supply of cotton.

Rubens Marques said they are carrying out a feasibility test on improving the cotton supply chain. The LDC wants to ensure that the capitals of textile factories are not stuck for a long time in the process of raw materials import.

The company considers Bangladesh as a strong and growing market for business, he added.