Published: 11:00 PM, 28 August 2026
Middle Entities Take Away Farmers’ Profits Across Bangladesh
Jannatul Fardaus Mahia
For millions of farmers across Bangladesh, producing a crop is only half the struggle. The harder battle often begins after harvest, when vegetables, rice, potatoes, onions, fruits and other agricultural products leave the farm and pass through a long chain of traders before reaching consumers.
At the farm gate, growers frequently receive a price that bears little resemblance to what consumers eventually pay in urban markets. Between the producer and the customer stand a series of intermediaries—local collectors, commission agents, wholesalers, aratdars, transporters and retailers. While many of these actors perform necessary functions, the growing number of layers in the supply chain has become a major concern for farmers, consumers and policymakers.
Recent studies and reports have highlighted significant inefficiencies in Bangladesh's agricultural supply chains. A Bangladesh Bank study published in 2025 found serious market distortions in the supply chains of rice, potatoes, onions, eggs and broiler chickens, with inefficiencies contributing to price volatility and hurting farmers while benefiting intermediaries.
The problem is particularly visible in the vegetable market. Farmers often have little bargaining power immediately after harvest because agricultural products are perishable. A grower who has spent months cultivating vegetables cannot simply keep them in storage indefinitely while waiting for a better price. Without adequate cold storage, transportation and direct access to larger markets, many farmers are compelled to sell quickly to local traders.
This creates an imbalance in the market.
A farmer may be forced to accept a low price because the produce needs to be sold that day, while the trader can transport the same product to another market where demand is stronger. By the time the vegetables reach consumers in Dhaka or other major cities, several transactions may have taken place and each participant may have added a margin.
A study on selected vegetables in the Dhaka district found that farmers received less than half of the final consumer price for several products. The farmer's share was reported at about 47 percent for brinjal, 33 percent for tomato and 39 percent for cauliflower.
Such figures illustrate why farmers frequently complain that rising retail prices do not necessarily translate into higher farm income.
The middleman, however, is not necessarily the only cause of the problem. Intermediaries perform important economic functions. They collect crops from scattered farms, arrange transportation, provide short-term credit, bear some risks and connect rural producers with wholesale and urban markets. Without these services, many small farmers would struggle to reach consumers.
The real problem arises when too many intermediaries control the movement of goods or when a small number of traders gain disproportionate influence over prices. An agricultural marketing system can become inefficient when farmers have little information about market prices and few alternatives for selling their produce.
In many rural areas, farmers lack timely information about prices in major markets. A grower may know the price offered by the local trader but have little idea what the same product is selling for in Dhaka. This information gap weakens the farmer's negotiating position.
Transportation is another major obstacle. Small farmers often do not have their own vehicles and cannot afford to transport relatively small quantities directly to distant wholesale markets. Selling to a local collector becomes the easiest and sometimes the only practical option.
Storage shortages make the situation worse. Potatoes, onions and other crops can be stored for longer periods under appropriate conditions, allowing farmers to wait for better prices. But inadequate storage facilities can force producers to sell during periods of oversupply, when prices are often at their lowest.
The result is a paradox that has become familiar in Bangladesh: farmers complain of low prices while consumers complain of high prices.
Both complaints can be true at the same time.
A farmer may sell a kilogram of vegetables at a low farm-gate price, while consumers in Dhaka pay several times more. The difference is absorbed by transportation costs, spoilage, market fees, handling expenses and the profits of different participants in the supply chain. But when the number of intermediaries increases unnecessarily, the gap between the farm-gate and retail prices can become particularly wide.
Reports have repeatedly pointed to the influence of middlemen in setting prices in urban vegetable markets. One recent report also highlighted allegations that middlemen and other informal actors can contribute to higher market prices and that weak oversight allows some traders to make substantial profits.
For farmers, the consequences go beyond a single season's income. Low returns can discourage investment in improved seeds, machinery, irrigation and better farming practices. Farmers who repeatedly suffer losses may reduce cultivation or move away from agriculture altogether.
Digital platforms could provide another avenue for reform. If farmers have access to reliable, real-time information about prices in different markets, they can make better decisions about where and when to sell. The Department of Agricultural Marketing already provides online market-price information, while policymakers and researchers have increasingly discussed technology as a way of reducing information gaps.
A farmer who spends months preparing land, buying inputs, planting crops, controlling pests and harvesting produce should not be left with the smallest share of the final market value simply because the product must pass through several hands.
Bangladesh needs an agricultural supply chain in which the farmer is not the weakest participant. Greater transparency, better infrastructure, reliable market information, stronger farmer organizations and more direct links between producers and consumers can help narrow the gap between farm-gate and retail prices.
The country's farmers feed its cities and sustain its food system. Ensuring that they receive a fair return is therefore not merely a matter of rural welfare. It is essential to the stability, efficiency and future of Bangladesh's entire agricultural economy.
Jannatul Fardaus Mahia is a
freelance English language
instructor.
