Fruits for Export

Summer fruits of Bangladesh are refreshingly juicy and delicious. The most common fruits are mango, jackfruit, litchi, blackberry, pineapple, banana, palm fruit, coconut, guava, lotkon and watermelon. After meeting local demands, Bangladesh is now exporting some of our most popular fruits, mostly to countries that have large numbers of expatriate Bangladeshis.   

About 9 million Bangladeshis live abroad, mostly in Europe, Middle East and North America, and they savour the taste of fruits from their homeland. That is why Bangladeshi exporters have added fruits to the export basket, alongside readymade garments and other products, paving the way to earn more foreign currency for the country. 
Now that summer is at its height, Bangladeshi cultivators and exporters are busy collecting, packaging and exporting our summer delicacies. The main destinations for the fruits are England, Italy, France, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Ireland, Greece, Poland, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Malaysia, Singapore, USA and Canada.
“This year, we concentrated on mango production. The local agricultural office helped us. Their frequent field visits and suggestions boosted our production. By implementing modern methods of cultivation, we are now able to produce a lot more fruits,” Fazrul Karim, a 55-year-old mango and litchi grower from Kalaroa in Satkhira, told this correspondent over telephone. 
“Besides, the weather was in favour of growing mangoes. So, with our combined efforts, mango cultivation was better this year than last year. The prices are also satisfactory, and we sell our fruits in Dhaka and other places. We sell a maund (40kg) of himsagar for Tk 2,000, gopalbogh at Tk 1,800, nangda at Tk 1,600 and rupali bangla at Tk 1,400,” Karim added, describing the different varieties of mangoes they produce. 
Monirul Islam, 33, another mango cultivator from Porsha, Naogaon said: “I have 35 hectares of mango groves where I have cultivated aam rupali, a type of mango. Mango cultivation is our family tradition. Actually, the soil of our area is suitable for mango cultivation. This year, our production and prices are both good. We send mangoes to Wais Ghat and Badamtoli (wholesale markets) in Dhaka through local exporters.”
Talking about his fruit export business, Rajib Dey, a 33-year-old exporter told The Weekend Independent: “I used to export to Ireland and the UK. But I cannot send my produce to the buyers right now as the authorities there have suspended exports for some time. They are insisting that we export fruits under contract farming. But it is merely impossible to go for contract farming in our country. In reality, the land of our country is not suitable for contract farming. I, along with some other exporters, once tried to cultivate fruits and vegetables under contract farming in Tangail, but we found the project very challenging.”
Contract farming is cultivation carried out according to an agreement between a buyer and growers, with certain conditions for the production and marketing of a particular produce.

“Observing our problems, the European Union (EU) suggested that we go for GAP (good agriculture practice) and we have already started practising it. We are getting jara lebu (lemon) under GAP from Narsingdi and it has a huge demand among the Bangladeshis living in the UK during Ramadan,” Dey added. 
“Narsingdi, Jessore, and Sonargaon (Narayanganj) are the export zones of our country. Farmers are growing fruits and vegetable there. We are providing suggestion now and then. To carry the produce from the land, we use covered vans. If the ministries of commerce and industry, and the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) inspire and guide us properly to increase fruit and vegetable exports, then our economy will earn a large amount of foreign currency,” Dey said. 
“We always try to maintain good quality of our produce for the buyers, as they check everything, and if they find anything wrong, then they will not 
give us any more orders. We leave no stone unturned for maintaining the quality,” Dey concluded. 
Another fruits exporter, Abul Hossain, who has been doing business for 25 years, explained the importance of modern farming to bring about a revolution in fruit cultivation. “If the agriculture officers and farmers jointly apply scientific methods of cultivation to produce fruits, vegetables and other crops regionally, and the government helps the exporters to export their produce, then it will be possible to bring about a revolution in this sector,” Hossain said. 
Some exporters, like Paritosh Chandra Das, who has been exporting fruits and vegetables for 27 years, sought more cooperation from the authorities to boost fruit exports. 
“The name of my farm is Dip International. I have been exporting mainly to the EU countries. But we are facing some trouble now. Some officials are not cooperating with us. That is why we find it difficult to export our products to our buyers. We urge to the authorities to remove the hidden barriers as possible so that we can do exporting activities easily,” said Das.
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), however, denied there were any problems regarding fruit exports.
Manzur Kadir, director general of EPB, said, “Their complaints are not correct. Fruit export is going on in full swing, and Europe is our biggest market. Within a few days, we shall know the total amount of export orders. We have imposed a temporary ban on the export of some items, and asked the producers to maintain certain criteria for those items. If they fulfil the requirements, we can help them export. We are always ready to serve the exporters.”  
  Avijit Chowdhury, another director general of EPB, said, “As this is summer fruit season, and mango is the most popular among them, we are going to sit with the stakeholders to increase mango exports and analyze the latest situation of the market.”
About the present situation of fruit exports, Anwar Hossain Khan, deputy director (export) of DAE’s Plant Quarantine Wing at Khamarbari, said: “This season, 14 tons of mangoes have been exported till date. The export of jackfruit, litchi and other fruits will start soon. With the help of the Ministry of Agriculture and thanks to moderate weather, the production of fruits has increased this year. After taking training from Department of Agricultural Extension , farmers have produced healthy fruits by using modern cultivation methods, and thus, they can sell their produce to the exporters and local supermarkets and make handsome profit. The DAE also provides training to exporters and related persons to increase fruit export. It also monitors their activities at intervals.”  
Abdul Wahed, president of Bangladesh Mango Producer Merchant Association in Chapainawabganj, an area famous for its mangoes, said, “From last year, we are getting orders from abroad. It is good news that we are exporting mangoes to Walmart in Europe, and the Middle East. Some 20,000 metric tons of mangoes are going to be exported soon. Our mangoes are 100 percent free from formalin and other chemicals, and that has become possible with the help of our farmer, local administration and our association.”
Jahangir Hussain, president, Bangladesh Fruits, Vegetables and Allied Products Exporter’s Association, which assists producers and exporters to export their products to the global market, said: “We help the exporters to promote their export products and improve their quality, better than our competitors in India, Pakistan and Thailand. If we have special air cargo services for export, we can make boost exports and fulfil the demand of our Bangladeshi consumers living abroad.”
Meanwhile, this correspondent also talked to some local exporters at the wholesale fruit market at Wais Ghat and Badamtoli in Old Dhaka. Most of the fruits sold in Dhaka city are supplied from the wholesalers there. 
“We source fruits from different corners of the country. We deal in mango, litchi and watermelon. This year, the production of fruits is better than last year. Our listed farmers are 300 around the country. For the month of Ramadan, we are trying to provide our customers with good, fresh fruits. We are giving importance on the quality,” said Almas Member, proprietor of Nirab Enterprise. 
About ensuring quality of the fruits on sale, Ishaque Ali, director (certificate maintenance) of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI), said: “We are making regular drives to check for formalin and other harmful chemicals in fruits under the order of the High Court and directive from the government, and our social responsibility.” 
“We have formalin testing machines. Any one can test here. I have a family and, of course, I want them to have safe fruits,” Ali added. 

Photos: Courtesy, files.