Dr. M. A. Awal and Dr. Md. Monir Uddin
Bangladesh is a small country with an area of 1,47,570 sq km, which is the 8th most populous country in the world. In the 50 years of independence, the cultivable land in the country has decreased by 20 percent and population has increased by 100 million. However, food production of the country has been increasing year after year. Bangladesh today is self-sufficient in food production. This has been made possible because of the timely, accurate and far-reaching plans of the present agri-friendly government and hard work of people of the country.
Surprising as it may seem, it is a fact that Bangladesh ranks in the top 10 countries in the world in fruit production. The annual fruit production in the country has surpassed the previous year's record. Even two decades ago, mango, jackfruit, litchi, plum, banana, blackberry, pineapple, guava, etc. were known as main fruits of the country and their cultivation was also limited. At present, about 72 types of domestic and foreign fruits are being produced in the country. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), fruit production in Bangladesh has been growing at a rate of 12.5 percent for the last 20 years. At present, the area under fruit cultivation in the country is about 8 lakh hectares and total fruit production is 130 lakh tons.
Industrialisation of agriculture
will bring huge changes in the
economy of the country
Mango production in the country in 2019-2020 was 1.5 million tons. This year also mango production is very good and Bangladesh ranks 7th in the world in mango production. But very little of this huge quantity is being exported as direct or processed products. As a result, mango growers are not getting the price of mango. Because mango production is much higher than domestic market demand. Note that in the year 2019-2020, only 279 tons mangoes were exported from the country.
Known as the apple of Bengal, Bangladesh ranks 8th in the world in the production of guava and its current production is about 6 lakh tons. But in 1980-1981, production of this fruit was only 9 thousand tons. The process of growing guava has not developed at the pace at which the production of this year-round fruit has increased and it has not been possible to export it as a fruit.
Considering the amount of production in the world, Bangladesh is the second largest producer of jackfruit and the current production is 18 lakh tons. At one time the national fruit jackfruit was popular in the country but now due to the easy availability of many kinds of delicious fruits in the market as well as various physical problems of the people, the use of jackfruit has decreased a lot. No industry has yet developed to process this huge quantity of fruit. Processed jackfruit juice, chips, canned jackfruit are in demand outside the country and there is a huge opportunity to export.
Pineapple is one of the most delicious fruits grown in the country, with a current production of 5 lakh tons. Since pineapple is a highly perishable fruit, there is less opportunity for direct export, but there is an opportunity to earn foreign exchange by exporting through juices, chips and canned goods.
Papaya is a fruit that has been known in this region since time immemorial. At present, the production of ripe papaya in the country has increased several times due to its delicious and high yielding variety. About 9 lakh tons of ripe papaya are produced every year in the country. There are opportunities to export directly through ripe papaya and processing although we have not been able to go to that stage till today.
At present, the production of vegetables in the country is 17.2 million tons and Bangladesh ranks third in the world in vegetable production. However, very little is being exported as compared to vegetable production. Farmers are not getting a fair price by producing a lot of vegetables and even a significant portion of vegetables is wasted every year due to lack of processing. The total potato production of the country is 1.1 million tons which is the 7th position in the world and the demand of the country is 7 million tons. Despite the meager export of an additional 4 million tons, the processing industry around potatoes has not yet developed.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau, 10 years ago, the income from the export of agricultural products was 40 crore dollars, but the income from the export of agricultural products has been steadily increasing for the last 4 years. In the meantime, the present agri-friendly government is providing 20 per cent cash assistance for the export of agricultural and processed food products, which has already had an impact. In 2017-2018, the export of processed agricultural products from the country was 67.37 crore, in 2018-2019 it increased to 90.89 crore dollars. In the year 2019-2020, export declined due to the corona epidemic in the world, this amount is 86.20 crore dollars and in the last 2020-2021, the export income of Bangladesh agricultural products exceeded one billion dollars which amounted to 102.81 crore dollars.
From the above information, it is easy to understand that there is a bright potential for processing and export of agricultural products in Bangladesh. As the lifestyle of the industrialized and developed countries has changed drastically, so has their diet. All these countries have a demand for processed food. There are about 14,000 restaurants in European countries, especially in the UK, where there is a demand for Bangladeshi food products. We have over 1 crore Bangladeshi in the Gulf countries to whom we can reach domestic processed agricultural products.
Newly educated entrepreneurs are joining the country's agriculture and producing new crops and fruits which are not being exported and are being financially affected by selling these agricultural products at low prices in the domestic market. More than 35 percent of fruits and vegetables in the country are wasted due to lack of processing and preservation alone. Fish production in the country has exceeded the domestic demand. However, a significant amount of foreign exchange is coming to the country from the fisheries sector and there is an opportunity to create more new markets in the future. The production of eggs, milk and meat is increasing day by day due to the involvement of many entrepreneurs in the livestock sector but the door of export is not opening due to lack of processing as well as product quality as per international standards.
Export earnings can be multiplied if fruit processing industries, especially fruit juices, jams, jellies, dried fruits, frozen fruits, canned fruits, fruit pickles, etc., are developed in a variety of ways. There is a possibility of building many industries based on vegetables. There is a demand for processed agricultural products like vegetable ketchup, frozen vegetables, frozen french fries, dried vegetables, vegetable juices, pickles, sach, starch etc. The country can earn billions of dollars by exporting processed spices, honey, black cumin oil, sesame oil, mustard oil, organic fertilizer, powdered milk, packaged meat etc.
Bangladesh's foreign missions in different countries can be utilized to expand the market of domestic processed agricultural products in the world. The missions can help in expanding the market for Bangladeshi products by determining what products are in demand in which country. Many entrepreneurs have been created in the production of agricultural products due to the support of various programs including the promotion of agri-friendly government and the production of agriculture is continuously increasing.
If the agri-friendly government provides long-term soft loans with special incentives for setting up processed industries of agricultural products, agro-industrialization will be created in the country which is very important for Bangladesh at present. Industrialization of agriculture will bring huge changes in the economy of the country. The producer group will get a market for their products and will also get a fair price. New entrepreneurs will be associated with agricultural production to create employment. By exporting processed agricultural products, foreign exchange will come which will further accelerate the progress of development of Bangladesh.
Dr. M A Awal is Member Director, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, Farmgate, Dhaka. Dr. M. Monir Uddin is an Agronomist.
