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Planning minister MA Mannan on Friday urged the agro processing businesses to use modern technology for ensuring quality of their food production targeting both local and international markets.
He said this while addressing as chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the 8th BAPA Foodpro International Expo 2022 arranged by the Bangladesh Agro-Processors’ Association at the International Convention City Bashundhara in the capital Dhaka on the day.
He said that the prices of food items would fall soon as the government has taken several actions to boost the domestic food production.
‘The government has always been under pressure to manage the domestic food crisis,’ the minister said.
The country’s domestic food production capacity has reached over four crore metric tonnes, he informed.
Mannan also said, ‘BAPA and agro processing businesses has the capacity to meet the domestic food supply demand.’
The government has offered policy support for the sector to ensure hygiene of food supply, he said.
BAPA should invest in research for improving food quality, he said.
He also urged the political parties for arranging peaceful political programmes targeting the upcoming national election and requested not to create a situation that might hamper the development goal of the country.
BAPA executive committee member and Banoful group executive director Md Shahidul Islam delivered the welcome speech.
He said, ‘BAPA has been arranging the event since 2015 with the aim to bringing all agro processing businesses under a single platform to share the products and technology to ensure growth of the food processing sector of the country.’
The food processing sector of the country has matured enough to capture the global market’s advantage, he said.
He also urged the government to continue providing both financial and policy support for the development of the sector.
Former vice-president of BAPA SM Jahangir Hossain also attended the programme as a guest.
He said, ‘Annual export earnings from the sector have crossed $1 billion and the sector also has a remarkable contribution in fulfilling local market food supply demand.’
Packaging and quality of the food products should improve to compete with other competitors on the global market, he said.
PRAN-RFL group chief executive officer and chairman Ahsan Khan Chowdhury chaired the event.
He said, ‘We are exporting our processed food products to more than 145 countries across the world including the Middle East, European Union, America and Canada.’
We are also adopting modern technologies for improving the quality of locally produced food products and soon the country will be a global agro-processed food products’ hub, he said.
Along with Bangladesh, more than 150 exhibitors from 17 countries like India, China, Italy, Turkey, Germany, America, Japan, Spain, Korea, Netherland and others showcased their processed food products and machinery at more than 160 stalls at two separate venues.
Traders showcased several machinery including baking machines, packaging machines, noodles making line, potato crackers machine, chocolate machine, frozen food making machine, wafer machine, candy machine, beverage, dairy, fruits and vegetable processing machines, cold store, spice plant, food colour and different flavours.
(NA)
