Agriculture Secretary Md Sayedul Islam said that the Ministry of Agriculture is working to speed up the export of agricultural products abroad by ensuring risk-free import of agriculture and agricultural products and following international regulations. Therefore, the introduction of e-phytosanitary certificate system and modernization of laboratories of all the pest control centers in the country is in progress with the aim of raising the plant protection program to international standards.
The Secretary of Agriculture said these things while speaking as the chief guest at the Public Consultation on 'Sanitary and Phytosanitary and Technical Barriers to Trade' at the Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute at Karwan Bazar in the capital on Wednesday.
Referring to the data of Bangladesh Export Development Bureau, the secretary said, Bangladesh's agricultural product export income in the fiscal year 2021-22 was 2860 million US dollars, which is about 5.5 percent of the total export income. In addition, the agro-food processing industry now contributes about 1.7 percent to the GDP and employs about 250,000 people. Its share in total exports now stands at around 3.5 percent.
The secretary said, Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) is conducting research on 'Sanitary and Phytosanitary and Technical Barriers to Trade' in order to identify and remove obstacles in the import and export of agricultural and agricultural products of Bangladesh. It will play an important role in increasing the export of agriculture and agricultural products of the country.
BFTI Chief Executive Officer Dr. Md. Zafar Uddin, DG Hafizur Rahman of WTO Cell of the Ministry of Commerce, Mizanur Rahman, Director of Bangladesh Regional Connectivity Project, Syed Rafiqul Amin, Director of Plant Pest Control Wing, Directorate of Agriculture Extension and others spoke.
