Welcome to Business Outlook
Related Articles
Bangladesh could boost its export earnings significantly by grabbing a share of the US’ agricultural imports, which is above $180 billion annually.
And to grab a good share, quarantine infrastructure as well as production of safe food must have to be ensured, said speakers at the AmCham November Luncheon Meeting on “Food safety and export opportunity towards USA” on Sunday.
AmCham President Syed Ershad Ahmed said the US imports agricultural products worth $180 billion annually, of which Bangladesh has captured only 0.8%, or $ 1.5 billion so far.
There is a huge potential for exporting Bangladeshi agro products to the US — both in its Asian and mainstream markets, he also said.
“To grab a good stake, we have to first ensure safe food and products as well as maintain global standards and implement modern quarantine norms,” he added.
Speaking as the guest of honour, Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said Bangladesh has taken several initiatives to boost and diversify its exports.
“We are working to increase the export of agricultural products to the mainstream markets in the US, the UK, Europe and Japan,” he also said.
Many steps have already been taken to meet the prerequisites set by those countries for exports, said the minister.
The work of setting up an internationally recognized accredited lab and modern packing house at Purbachal area is also going on, he added.
Work is also underway to set up a vacuum heat treatment plant for mango export with help of China and the Netherlands.
Modern quarantine rules and regulations have also been adopted, good agricultural practices (GAP) is being implemented and modern lab facilities have been available for the industry.
A project to set up cold storage chains in every divisional city is also underway, said the minister.
Cold storages for multiple crops like potato, carrot, tomato and others are being set up to boost export, he added.
AmCham Vice-President Syed Mohammad Kamal and US Embassy Agricultural Attaché in Dhaka Megan Francic also spoke at the event.
(DT)
