AgribusinessIn July 2026 edible oil importers and marketers proposed raising prices by Tk 10 a litre, saying they were importing at a loss. The commerce ministry said the proposed rise ran ahead of the world-price increase and had yet to decide, while a consumer body alleged market manipulation.
HealthProfessor Md Sayedul Arefin, director of the University of Dhaka's Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, told BBC Bangla in May 2026 that plant fat is far better than animal fat, which should be eaten in moderation.
CropsA Jagonews24 report of 25 April 2026 said SAU Perilla-1, the first perilla variety registered in Bangladesh, could help meet edible oil demand, of which home-grown oilseeds supplied only about a tenth, and might later be exported.
Sunflowers grown on about 984 hectares in Pirojpur this season have an estimated market value of Tk 20 crore and are drawing visitors to the fields.
Low costs, a short season and good returns are drawing a growing number of Bagerhat farmers to sunflower, with about 3,800 growing it on 610 hectares this year.
Sunflower cultivation is growing in Mirsarai, Chattogram, where government incentives have helped farmers plant 15 hectares this season.
The neglected bhenna (castor) plant, a symbol of poverty in Jasimuddin's poem, could become a source of income on Bangladesh's fallow land by replacing imported castor oil.
CropsIn March 2026, farmers in Sharsha and Benapole, Jashore, were growing sunflowers on fallow and single-crop land with free seed and fertiliser from the local agriculture office. The upazila agriculture officer put the season's area at about 750 decimals.
A farming couple in Dighinala, Khagrachhari, has turned land once leased out for tobacco into a sunflower field, as hill farmers look for a safer alternative crop.
CropsSunflower was grown on 55 hectares in Dinajpur in the 2025-26 season against a target of 54, the district's agriculture extension office said in March 2026, and about 69 tonnes of seed were expected.
FlowersSunflowers were in bloom on 178 hectares in Tangail's 12 upazilas in March 2026, and the DAE said farmers would profit if the weather stayed favourable.
Pabna's agriculture department expects to harvest 110 tonnes of honey worth about Tk 4.5 crore from bee boxes set beside mustard fields in the district.
Farmers in Narayanganj hope for a bumper mustard harvest this season as fields bloom across Araihazar, Bandar and Sonargaon.
