BSS– Ambassadors, high commissioners and heads of mission of about 20 countries in Dhaka today visited safe mango production activities in Chapainawabgani district as mangoes are being produced there following the good agricultural practices (GAP) to increase its export abroad.
In the afternoon, they visited the mango orchard of farmer Ruhul Amin, who is following good agricultural practices in mango production, in Kandbona village under Nachole upazila.
During the visit, the envoys appreciated this initiative of Bangladesh and were impressed by the safe mango production process, said a press release of the Agriculture Ministry.
Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdus Shahid, State Minister for Commerce Ahasanul Islam Titu, State Minister for Rural Development and Cooperatives Md Abdul Wadud, local lawmaker Md Ziaur Rahman, Agriculture Secretary Wahida Akter, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council Executive Chairman Dr Shaikh Mohammad Bokhtiar and envoys of Brunei Darussalam, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Spain, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, Bhutan, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Libya were present during the visit.
Besides, the Bangladesh representative of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations joined it.
After the visit, Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdus Shahid said the mangoes of Bangladesh are unique in taste and smell, and are very popular abroad too.
Bangladesh has the potential to export a huge amount of mangoes every year, while it can export only about 3000 tonnes of mangoes now, he said.
The agriculture minister said the main obstacle behind the mango export was the lack of good agricultural practices in its production. “So, we have started producing safe mangoes following the good agricultural practices. Today, the envoys of different countries visited this programme,” he added.
State Minister for Commerce Ahasanul Islam Titu said: “We, the agriculture, commerce and foreign affairs ministries, will do branding of our mangoes abroad together so that we can increase mango export.”
Agriculture Secretary Wahida Akter said Bangladesh has started following good agricultural practices in mango production. The envoys witnessed safe mango production activities today, which will help increase the country’s mango export, she added.
Currently, Bangladesh is exporting mangoes to 38 countries. In 2021, mangoes worth about US$ 1.5 billion were exported. Around 1,757 tonnes of mangoes were exported in fiscal 2021-22, while 3,100 tonnes in fiscal 2022-23.
