Beyond football: Who has stronger economic ties with Bangladesh – Brazil or Argentina?
Bangladesh is football-mad, with loyalties often split between Brazil and Argentina, even as its economic fragility shapes everyday policy conversations.
In my workplace, Brazilian and Argentine flags dominate the walls and pillars. Just a week ago, at budget times, conversations that once revolved around high inflation, low investment, and business conditions now begin with squad selections, tactical debates, and predictions for the Fifa World Cup 2026.
Bangladesh is football-mad, with loyalties often split between Brazil and Argentina, even as its economic fragility shapes everyday policy conversations.
But amid the chants, jerseys and rising excitement, one question quietly slips through: who wins Bangladesh's trade showdown – Brazil or Argentina?
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Brazil clearly leads the trade derby. Bangladesh imports roughly three times more from Brazil than from Argentina, and exports nearly eight times more to Brazil than to Argentina.
In FY25, Bangladesh bought $2.6 billion worth of goods from Brazil – making it the 6th largest import source for the country, commanding a 3.90% share of total imports of $67.33 billion.
Bangladesh bought mostly raw sugar, cotton, soyabeans and cereals from Brazil – key inputs for the country's apparel industry and food supply chain.
Brazil's economic weight helps explain this dominance. Beyond being a football powerhouse, it is also the world's 11th largest economy, with a GDP of around $2.3 trillion in 2025, according to the World Economic League Table (WELT 2026) published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) based in London.
Meanwhile, Argentina, the world's 25th largest economy, occupies modest position in Bangladesh's import map, ranking 17th largest with $785 million in FY25 and a 1.20% share. Its shipments were also commodity-driven, mainly non-refined soyabean oil and cereals.
Now flip the direction. Bangladesh sold $187.3 million worth of goods to Brazil in FY25 – ranked 27th in export destinations, but growing fast. Bangladesh's exports to Brazil jumped 26% in FY25, with readymade garments – jerseys, pullovers, shirts, trousers – leading the charge.
To Argentina? A mere $21.6 million, ranked 65th and only 0.04% of the total export earnings of $48.28 billion.
Beyond their rivalry in Bangladesh's football imagination, two South American giants, Brazil and Argentina are connected by steady trade relationship in reality.
According to data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), in 2024 Brazil exported around $13.8 billion worth of goods to Argentina, driven largely by industrial and manufacturing products. Its top exports included cars ($2.19 billion), motor vehicle parts and accessories ($1.33 billion), and delivery trucks ($617 million).
Argentina, in turn, exported about $13 billion worth of goods to Brazil, reflecting a closely matched trade relationship between the two economies. Its leading exports included delivery trucks ($3.07 billion), cars ($2.12 billion), and wheat ($1.15 billion).
